Trend survey of confiscated drugs reveals little change in drug quality
What are the trends and developments in the drugs most commonly confiscated by the police? What is the quality of the drugs? And what substances are used to adulterate them? In order to answer those questions, every few years the Narcotics team of the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) examines samples of drugs seized by the police. The drugs involved are cocaine, heroin, amphetamine, MDMA and methamphetamine. The results reveal that the quality of the drugs has barely changed over recent years.
The NFI conducts the research in order to get a good picture of the composition of the drugs sold to users. This is necessary in order to make pronouncements in criminal cases about how much a particular composition of drugs deviates from the norm, explains expert Jorrit van den Berg of Narcotics: “For example, in a case in which a person is taken ill as a result of taking drugs, one of the questions from the Public Prosecution Service or police may be whether the composition of the drugs found in the victim deviates from the norm. To answer that question, we obviously need to know what the norm is. We often find low quantities of the active substance in the drugs we analyse. But what is low? The data from the survey help to establish that in our reports.”
Active substance in drugs
For the survey, researchers from the NFI conducted a more extensive analysis of samples taken from batches of drugs examined using NFiDENT. NFiDENT is a ‘remote forensics’ application that allows the police to measure substances at the police station. The results are then sent to the NFI in digital form for analysis, interpretation and a report. “The NFiDENT results tell us something about the type of drug found but nothing about the quality of the drug”, says Van den Berg. “In order to establish the quantity of the active substance in the drugs, we need to perform additional analysis at the NFI.” The NFI measured the proportion of the active substance in approximately 400 drug samples.
Trimbos
The results of the NFI’s analysis were then compared with those of the Drugs Information and Monitoring System (DIMS) of the Trimbos Institute. This institute has a national network of test locations where users can have their drugs checked. In 2022, a total of 17,929 drug samples were submitted. This also provides insight into the drugs market. “Our research is on a smaller scale, but the comparison is still very interesting. Apart from the scale, the source of the materials studied is also different. Our samples were confiscated by the police. The samples for the DIMS were submitted by users”, notes Van den Berg.
Stable quality
When asked whether there are major differences between the two studies, he shakes his head: “That is perhaps the most fascinating thing: there is almost no difference. Our data are in line with those of the Trimbos Institute. And they have been over several years. The quality of the Dutch user market is very stable, yet at the same time a lot of resources are being put into detection and large quantities are being seized. The proportion remains stable and the adulterants remain the same. No new substances have been added, and that is true for all the drugs examined.” That could actually be an issue of concern, adds Van den Berg: “This is an assumption, but it may mean that the losses to criminals from intercepted and confiscated batches are having little impact on the market. Apparently, the remaining stocks are sufficient.”
Methamphetamine
Besides identifying the relative purity and the adulterants used in cocaine, heroin, amphetamine and MDMA (the big four), smaller scale research was conducted into methamphetamine – a type of drug that was added to NFiDENT at a later date. “There are two forms of methamphetamine, d-methamphetamine and l-methamphetamine. When making the drug, both forms are produced, but d-methamphetamine is much more potent than l-methamphetamine. It is interesting to know what the distribution between the two forms is on the street, and therefore what people are using”, explains Van den Berg. “Two-thirds of the samples contained mainly d-methamphetamine. That is the more active substance.” But in terms of the law, it doesn't make any difference which form of methamphetamine it is – both are prohibited.
The future of street research
The team does not yet know whether Narcotics will continue to conduct street research in the same way in the future. “Alongside the common drugs, there are also types into which we have so far done little research, such as 2C-B, CMC and MMC. These substances are also regularly encountered. Because we have not seen significant differences over multiple years in our street research compared to the Trimbos Institute, we are looking into the possibility of focusing on this undiscovered market”, says Van den Berg.