by Denise Purdie Andrews | Nov 13, 2024 | General
By Kevin Shanks, D-ABFT-FT “Pink cocaine” has been in the news recently due to the death of Liam Payne, one of the vocalists from the pop music group, One Direction. He died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina. What exactly is...
by Denise Purdie Andrews | Oct 18, 2024 | Drug Classes, General
By Stuart Kurtz, D-ABFT-FT At this year’s annual meeting of NAME, we presented a handful of case reports on tianeptine. We had previously provided some information on tianeptine in a blog post from September 18, 2023. The aim of this poster was to present cases where...
by Denise Purdie Andrews | Sep 17, 2024 | Announcements
By Denise Purdie Andrews This Fall, Axis’ expert toxicologists can be found speaking in multiple venues, helping to educate our clients and share expertise with other forensic scientists. The National Association of Medical Examiner (NAME) 2024 Annual Meeting,...
by Denise Purdie Andrews | Sep 4, 2024 | Drug Classes
By Kevin Shanks, D-ABFT-FT What are Designer Benzodiazepines? Designer benzodiazepines are substances synthesized to mimic the effects of traditional benzodiazepines, which are commonly prescribed for anxiety, insomnia, and other conditions. Unlike their...
by Denise Purdie Andrews | Jun 7, 2024 | Drug Classes
By Kevin Shanks, D-ABFT-FT Medetomidine, an alpha-2-adrenergic receptor agonist, similar to the prescription medications clonidine and tizanadine and the veterinary medicine xylazine, is approved for use in human and veterinary medicine and has found its way into the...
by Denise Purdie Andrews | Jun 3, 2024 | General
Axis Forensic Toxicology is pleased to confirm that Dr. Laureen J. Marinetti, Ph.D., F-ABFT, will officially assume the role of Laboratory Director and Chief Toxicologist on June 1, 2024. This follows the announcement of Dr. George S. Behonick’s upcoming...
by Denise Purdie Andrews | May 29, 2024 | Announcements
Axis is pleased to recognize the four Forensic Medicine Fellows that recently completed Axis’ toxicology rotation. The rotation is a week-long virtual program where participants reviewed many aspects of a modern forensic toxicology operation, including the...
by Denise Purdie Andrews | May 17, 2024 | Operations
Axis Forensic Toxicology has historically offered a service to store casework for a third party (typically a family member or law office) once our clients authorize a release. This has effectively been a behind-the-scenes service that benefits third parties, but...
by Denise Purdie Andrews | May 3, 2024 | Drug Classes, General
By Stuart Kurtz, D-ABFT-FT Last month, Axis was represented at the Midwest Association for Toxicology and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring’s annual meeting. Toxicologist Stuart Kurtz gave a presentation on the lab’s detections of carfentanil since Axis started testing for...
