By Kevin Shanks, D-ABFT-FT Mitragyna speciosa is a tree or shrub that grows in southeast Asia, particularly Thailand and Malaysia. The plant is locally known as kratom or biak-biak. It exists in the Rubiaceae family of plants, which includes the genera Coffea or...
By Kevin Shanks, D-ABFT-FT This post has been updated since its original posting Apr 7, 2022. The presence of fentanyl in the street drug supply has rapidly exploded throughout the United States since approximately 2014. Drug overdose deaths have increased as well...
by Kevin Shanks, M.S., D-ABFT-FT Fentanyl was originally synthesized by Paul Janssen in 1960 and was initially marketed as Sublimaze® and used as a general anesthetic. In the mid-1990s, fentanyl was introduced to the pharmaceutical market as a transdermal patch and...
by Kevin Shanks, M.S., D-ABFT-FT Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a genus of annual flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae, and consists of the species, Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica. The plants are native to Eastern Asia, but are cultivated all over...
by Kevin Shanks, M.S., D-ABFT-FT Note: This is an excerpt of a presentation given to the LTG (London Toxicology Group) in June 2021. Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRA) are laboratory synthesized chemicals which bind to cannabinoid receptors in the human...
