The Evolving Victorian Illicit Drug Market 1988 to 2013 National - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Victoria Police Forensic Services Department The Evolving Victorian Illicit Drug Market – 1988 to 2013 National Drug Trends Conference, October 2014 1 1

Drugs (by category) detected in Victoria 1988 to 2013 Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% Other drugs Steroids 50% Pharmaceuticals 40% Traditional illicit drugs 30% 20% 10% 0% 1988 1990 1995 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2013 2

Traditional illicit drugs snapshot 1988 to 2013 Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 100% 90% 80% Psilocin & Psilocybin 70% LSD Ephedrine & Pseudoephedrine 60% Amphetamine 50% Cocaine THC 40% Ecstasy 30% Heroin 20% Methylamphetamine 10% 0% 1988 1990 1995 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2013 3

Other drugs 1988 to 1997 Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 45 40 GHB 35 Methorphan Ketamine 30 Thiopentone 25 Propoxyphene Phenytoin 20 Diethylpropion 15 Butyl nitrite Chloral hydrate 10 Amyl nitrite 5 0 1988 1990 1995 1997 4

Other drugs 2000 to 2013 Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 35000 NPS Mescaline 30000 Levamisole 25000 1,4-BD Antipyrine 20000 Methiocarb Methaqualone Iso-butyl nitrite 15000 Denbutenol 10000 GHB Methorphan 5000 Ketamine Amyl nitrite 0 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2013 5

New Psychoactive Substances summary Victoria Police Forensic Services Department NPS category 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Cathinones 4.4% 1.5% 1.2% 6.0% 15.3% Phenethylamines 1.1% 3.0% 55.0% 30.2% 33.2% Piperazines 94.4% 94.9% 39.8% 13.2% 31.3% Plant Based 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.1% 0.0% Synthetic Cannabinoids 0.0% 0.0% 0.9% 9.8% 3.9% Tryptamines 0.1% 0.6% 0.1% 1.6% 1.9% Other NPS 0.0% 0.0% <0.1 4.7% 13.6% NPS mixtures 0.1% 0.0% 3.0% 34.4% 0.8% 6

New Psychoactive Substances 2013 Victoria Police Forensic Services Department Category Most prevalent Percentage Cathinones Methylone 78% Phenethylamines 25I-NBOMe 52% TFMPP Piperazines 65% UR-144 + XLR-11 Synthetic Cannabinoids 54% Tryptamine Tryptamines 73% Other EPS 1,3-Dimethylamylamine 96% MDPV + 2C-I Cathinones & Phenethylamines 67% MDPV + XLR-11 Cathinones & Synthetic Cannabinoids 100% Phenethylamines & Other NPS 3-Methiopropamine + Methoxetamine 100% 7

Purity - Heroin Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 51-60 41-50 31-40 21-30 11-20 < 10 1988 1990 1995 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2013 8

Purity - Methylamphetamine Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 81-90 61-70 41-50 21-30 < 10 1988 1990 1995 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2013 9

Purity - Cocaine Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 61-70 51-60 41-50 31-40 21-30 11-20 < 10 1988 1990 1995 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2013 10

Purity - Ecstasy Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 41-50 31-40 21-30 11-20 < 10 1990 1995 1997 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 2013 11

Number of drugs per sample Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 5 drugs 6 drugs 4 drugs 2 drugs 2 drugs 1% 1% 1% 3% 7% 3 drugs 8% 2 drugs 20% 1 drug 67% 1 drug 1 drug 99% 93% 1988 1995 2013 12

Most dominant drug forms Victoria Police Forensic Services Department Heroin powder/compressed substance THC resinous substance Cocaine powder/compressed substance Ecstasy tablet LSD ticket Steroids liquid NPS tablets 13

Powders Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 14

Tablets Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 15

25I-NBOMe in tablet form Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 25I-NBOMe 25I-NBOMe + 25I-NBOMe + 25C-NBOMe + methylamphetamine methylamphetamine 16

LSD tickets Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 17

Tickets – LSD or NBOMe? Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 25C-NBOMe + 1,4-BD LSD 18

Tickets – LSD or NBOMe? Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 19

Tickets – LSD or NBOMe? Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 20

Tickets – LSD or NBOMe? Victoria Police Forensic Services Department alpha - PVP 21

Steroids Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 22

Methylamphetamine Forms Victoria Police Forensic Services Department Most dominant form • 1988 – 1997 powder/compressed substances • 2000 – 2012 tablets • 2013 crystal 23

Crystal MA Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 24

Crystal MDMA Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 25

Crystal methylamphetamine Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 26

Methylamphetamine and “ICE” Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 30000 25000 20000 Total <70% Total >70% 15000 Crystal <70% Crystal >70% 10000 5000 0 2003 2006 2009 2012 2013 27

CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY AND ANALYTICAL PROCESSES Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 28

Spotting TLC plates Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 29

Spraying TLC plates Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 30

Developed TLC plates Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 31

GC with integrator – 1970s Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 32

Gas Chromatograph 1970s Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 33

Chart recorder Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 34

Gas Chromatograph late 1980s Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 35

Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 36

Drug Analysis GCs 1990 to 2006 Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 37

GCMS Room Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 38

GC & GCMS Room 2012 Victoria Police Forensic Services Department 39

Victoria Police Forensic Services Department Acknowledgements • Forensic Drug Branch staff, past and present, who have contributed to the production of the analytical results presented. • Special thanks to members of CDI who tirelessly analyse tens of thousands of samples each year which would otherwise not be analysed prior to their destruction in order for us to obtain this type of intelligence data. 40