Drug Primer: MDPHP

By Kevin Shanks, D-ABFT-FT Stimulants come and go. New ones arrive on the illicit drug market all the time. One of the newest stimulants to be identified is MDPHP, also known as 3′,4′-Methylenedioxy-α-pyrrolidinohexiophenone. It is a substituted cathinone, a class of...

Drug Primer: Diphenidine

By Stuart Kurtz, D-ABFT-FT Drug Primer: Diphenidine  1-(1,2-diphenylethyl)piperidine, commonly known as diphenidine, is part of the 1,2-diarylethylamine class. This class includes drugs such as phencyclidine (PCP), 3-methoxyphencyclidine (3-MeO-PCP), and...

Recap of Laureen Marinetti NAME & SOFT 2025 Presentations

In October 2025, Laboratory Director and Chief toxicologist Laureen Marinetti, PhD, made presentations at both the National Association of Medical Examiners 2025 Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, and at the Society of Forensic Toxicologists 2025 Conference in...

Recap of Stuart Kurtz NAME & SOFT 2025 Presentations

In October 2025, toxicologist Stuart Kurtz made presentations at both the National Association of Medical Examiners 2025 Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, and at the Society of Forensic Toxicologists 2025 Conference in Portland, Oregon. NAME 2025 Recap: Nitazenes ...

A Case of Drug Reemergence: The Synthetic Cannabinoid, 5F-ADB 

By Kevin Shanks, D-ABFT-FT It has been a little over 4 years since Axis mentioned synthetic cannabinoids on this blog. So, briefly, synthetic cannabinoids are man-made compounds that bind to cannabinoid receptors 1 (CB1) and 2 (CB2) in the body and mediate effects of...