Street drugs often don't contain what the buyer expects
Recent published research by the University of Liverpool has shown over a quarter of street drugs sold in UK don't contain what the buyer expects. Drug testers getting unexpected positive results, following rapid drug screening, may be less quick to blame the drug test kit for giving false-positive results, following research recently published by the University of Liverpool.
The university undertook a detailed analysis of the contents of a range of illegal street drugs and found that in almost 25% the contents did not match what the buyer expected, or had been advised they were purchasing, and often contained much stronger and more dangerous drugs than they were sold as. They also found that some drugs also contained cutting agents such as caffeine, paracetamol and ephedrine.
The findings come at a time of record-level highs for drug-related deaths in Britain. A total of 2,917 deaths from illicit drugs were recorded in England and Wales in 2018.
The ability to rapidly identify the drugs consumed in emergency presentations to A&E, and not simply rely on the assumed drug purchased, is an increasing problem for emergency services.