About this episode

The episode discusses the evolving illicit drug market and its implications for emergency care, featuring insights from experts in pharmacology and addiction medicine.

The illicit drug market is evolving faster than ever before. Novel psychoactive substances (NPS), synthetic opioids and increasingly potent club drugs are creating new challenges for pre-hospital clinicians, emergency departments and critical care teams. Patients are presenting with unfamiliar toxidromes, unpredictable physiology, and rapidly deteriorating clinical conditions that demand evidence-based assessment and management. The episode begins with insights from Dr Caroline Copeland , Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology and Toxicology at King's College London and Director of the National Programme on Substance Use Mortality. Caroline explains how the illicit drug market has transformed over the past decade, discussing the emergence of synthetic opioids, nitazenes, novel benzodiazepines and the ever-expanding range of novel psychoactive substances. Drawing on national surveillance data and forensic toxicology, she highlights the trends every frontline clinician should understand and the public health implications of these rapidly evolving substances. Building on that foundation, Owen Bowden-Jones , Consultant Psychiatrist and one of the UK's leading experts in club drugs and…

People in this episode

Host: Eoin Walker

Guests: Dr Caroline Copeland, Owen Bowden-Jones

Topics covered

• novel psychoactive substances
• club drugs
• emergency care
• toxicology
• patient management

Keywords

• synthetic opioids
• MDMA
• GHB
• toxidromes
• emergency medicine
• substance use
• forensic toxicology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: King's College London, National Programme on Substance Use Mortality

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