“Pink cocaine”, synthetic cannabinoids: new narcotic products are circulating, notes Wednesday a study by the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies (OFDT), also pointing out the purity of the cocaine in circulation, with a “risk of intoxication” on the rise.
The National Identification System for Toxicants and Substances (SINTES), a system for observing the composition of illicit psychoactive products coordinated by the OFDT, serves as the basis for this study based on more than 600 samples of psychoactive products collected. in 2022.
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Find the latest observations from the National Identification System for toxicants and substances #SINTES for the year 2022 ➡️ https://t.co/ntDWUQ7xg2 pic.twitter.com/cnm2a7GQ18
— OFDT (@OFDT) January 31, 2024
Among its lessons, the high cocaine content of the samples collected: more than 70% of the 123 samples analyzed “could have benefited from a cocaine dosage” and nine turned out to be pure, indicates the OFDT.
However, “an increase in the cocaine content results in an increase in the risk of acute intoxication and the development of complications linked to its toxicity,” warns the Observatory.
More than 56% of the cocaine samples analyzed did not contain cutting agents.
“Deceptions”
The OFDT also notes the “numerous deceptions” without the knowledge of users of 3-MMC, a synthetic drug classified as a narcotic in the Netherlands.
“In 2022, of the 56 samples collected supposed to be 3-MMC, only 12 (21.4%) are really exclusively composed of 3-MMC,” specifies the OFDT.
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Another product in circulation, “pink cocaine”, which comes in the form of pink powder, was spotted for the first time in France in 2022 by the SINTES system.
Documented in 2021 via the TREND system (Recent Trends and New Drugs), the analyzes highlighted a recurring association in this product of MDMA and ketamine, without the presence of cocaine.
Little known, this substance can cause “unexpected complications for the user because of its misleading name”, continues the OFDT.
This SINTES report also highlights the emergence of a new synthetic cannabinoid product, which appeared in France in the fall of 2022, hexahydrocannabinol (HHC).
“Certain collections made it possible to identify deception because certain products were sold as containing CBD”, a non-psychotropic cannabis molecule, says the OFDT.
Increase in collections
For heroin, the report notes “a predominance of weakly concentrated heroines”, that is to say cut with other agents.
As in 2021, the most frequent reason for collections remains the occurrence of unexpected effects (39%), while unrecognized products or products with incomplete results represent nearly 25%, up 15 points.
New or rare products correspond to 25%.
In total in 2022, SINTES recorded an 18% increase in collections compared to 2021, with 623 samples recovered.