Evaluation of pre-analysis loss of dependent drugs in wastewater: stability and binding assessments.

Wastewater analysis has the potential to provide objective and timely data on population drug consumption, but some crucial factors such as pre-analysis drug loss during sample storage and filtration could affect the accuracy and reliability of the method, and these uncertainties have yet to be fully assessed. This study was designed to evaluate analyte stability in wastewater stored under different conditions with the aim of optimizing the sample storage procedures for future studies. It also investigated whether there is significant analyte loss during filtration before sample extraction and storage after that.

Marked decline in 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) based on wastewater analysis.

Objective: Recent reports in Europe suggest a decline in 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; Ecstasy) use, but quantifiable and objective measurement is unavailable. The global extent of changes in MDMA and related stimulant use is also unclear. This study aims to quantify changes in MDMA use in Australia and determine whether these changes have been accompanied by differing amounts of other stimulant use.

Population drug use in Australia: a wastewater analysis.

Accurate information on drug use in communities is essential if health, social and economic harms associated with illicit drug use are to be addressed efficiently. In most countries population drug use is estimated indirectly via surveys, medical presentations and police and custom seizures. All of these methods have at least some problems due to bias, small samples and/or long time delays between collecting the information and analysing the results.

Fatalities associated with the use of gamma-hydroxybutyrate and its analogues in Australasia.

Objective: To identify deaths in Australasia associated with overdose of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and its precursors (gamma-butyrolactone and 1,4-butanediol).

Design: A retrospective search of medical and scientific information sources, as well as popular newsprint, for the period January 2000-August 2003, with formal clinical, toxicological and forensic evaluation of retrieved data.

Main Outcome Measure: Death associated with forensic data implicating GHB or its analogues.