White Powder Russian Roulette

The drug marketplace is a complex, rapidly evolving, unregulated and deceptive space. FSI analyses thousands of samples of white powder each year and an array of different chemical compounds are detected in these powders. In one instance An Garda Síochána submitted seven packets of white powder from a single suspect. Each of the packets and the white powders themselves were visually very similar.

On analysis the powder from one of the packs was found to contain cannabidiol (CBD). The powder from another pack was found to contain N-pyrrolidinyl-DMA. The powder from two of the packs was found to contain ADB-Fubiata and the powder from the remaining three packs was found to contain ADB-D-5Br-Inaca. Cannabidiol is a cannabinoid that is found in cannabis plants. ADB-D-5Br-Inaca and ADB-Fubiata are synthetic cannabinoids that are structurally unrelated to cannabinoids but bind to the same receptors in the human brain as THC resulting in a similar psychoactive response. N-pyrrolidinyl-DMA is categorised as an amphetamine which is a strong central nervous stimulant.

While each of these powders were visually indistinguishable from each other, the effects of consuming each of these substances are potentially very different. Drug users have no guarantee that purchasing illicit substances won’t result in unintended sinister consequences. FSI’s drug testing service continues to show that all is not what it seems at face value.