E!2297 EUFORiaR European Union Forensic Intelligence and Reference Materials

Cannabinoids present in the cannabis plant are known as phyto-cannabinoids and some have psychoactive properties e.g. D9-tetrahydrocannabinol is the main psychoactive component of cannabis, whilst cannabidiol (CBD) is not psychoactive. These natural compounds can be chemically altered in the laboratory to produce psychoactive semi-synthetic cannabinoids (SSCs) or cannabinoids can be made intirely in the laboratory (synthetic cannabinoids, SCs) and are not related to the cannabis plant. Phytocannabinoids and SSCs are increasingly appearing both in illicit markets and in commercially available products (plant material e-cigarette liquids, edibles) in jurisdictions where naturally occurring cannabinoids have been decriminalised and/or where SSCs are not legislatively controlled or in mis-labelled consumer products. SCs are often based on drugs made by medical researchers and not developed further due their psychoactivity and these often strong and harmful drugs enter the illegal drug market. The EUFORiaR project will help law enforcement, consumer protection, public health authorities and licensed research laboratories identify, assess and determine the amount of drug(s) present in a test sample. EUFORiaR will produce the high value cannabinoid and cannabinoid metabolite Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) required for laboratories worldwide to reliably analyse these drugs before they are consumed (bulk drug testing) and after they are consumed (toxicology). When a cannabinoid is consumed, the chemical structure of the drug is altered to form a more water-soluble metabolite which can pass through the body before being excreted e.g. in urine and this metabolite must be detected and often the amount present determined. We will produce high quality CRMs when they are most needed. As a result, they will help to accelerate the detection of new cannabinoids and support rapid risk assessment and regulatory action to protect public health.

The EUFORiaR project will produce the high value cannabinoid Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) required for reliable and traceable laboratory analysis by drug testing and toxicology laboratories worldwide. These cannabinoids include naturally occurring cannabinoids (phytocannabinoids), rapidly emerging semi-synthetic analogs of phytocannabinoids (SSCs), and potent and harmful synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) designed purely for the illicit drug market. Phytocannabinoids and SSCs are increasingly appearing both in illicit markets and in commercially available products in jurisdictions where naturally occurring cannabinoids have been decriminalised and/or where SSCs are not legislatively controlled. The R&D challenge is to produce highly relevant high quality CRMs at the right time for the market and to provide customers with enhanced product information, including drug potency and metabolism. EUFORiaR will create a paradigm shift in drug detection, accelerating the detection of emerging cannabinoids and supporting rapid risk assessment and regulatory action to protect human health. EUFORiaR will use innovative methodologies to predict, produce and bring to market sought-after certified reference materials (CRMs) allowing researchers, law enforcement, consumer protection and public health authorities to promptly identify and quantify emerging cannabinoids. The project benefits from the consortium's extensive drug intelligence network and reference material production experience, generating a portfolio of innovative CRMs, including parent compounds, metabolites, highly demanded 13C-labelled internal standards and internal calibrant mixes for rapid drug quantitation.