title: The effect of banning MDPV on the incidence of MDPV-positive findings among users of illegal drugs and on court decisions in traffic cases in Finland.
abstract: In this study, we sought to determine what impact the banning of 3, 4- methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) had on the incidence of MDPV-positive findings and on user profiles in driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) and postmortem (PM) investigations in Finland. All MDPV-positive cases and a selection of corresponding court cases between 2009 and 2012 were examined. The median serum concentration of MDPV in DUID cases was 0.030 mg/L and in PM blood 0.12 mg/L. The number of MDPV-positive cases decreased both in DUID and PM investigations after the drug was banned. The decrease in the mean monthly numbers of MDPV-positive DUID cases was 51.1%. In court cases, MDPV was rarely mentioned until banned and frequently mentioned thereafter. Of the convicted, 37% were without a fixed abode, 98% had other charges besides that of DUID, and 13% appeared in the study material more than once. In MDPV-positive PM cases, the proportion of suicides was very high (24%). Research on new psychoactive substances is required not only to support banning decisions but more importantly to be able to provide a scientific assessment of the risks of these new substances to the public and potential users.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Helsinki, PO Box 40, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland, pirkko.kriikku@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Pirkko
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kriikku
authors.forename: Janne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rintatalo
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pihlainen
authors.forename: Jukka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hurme
authors.forename: Ilkka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ojanperä
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D052117:Benzodioxoles / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood* / Q000506:poisoning; D015198:Designer Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis*; D000066448:Driving Under the Influence / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood* / Q000506:poisoning; D011759:Pyrrolidines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood* / Q000506:poisoning; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult; D000094982:Synthetic Cathinone
chemical_list: D052117:Benzodioxoles; D015198:Designer Drugs; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D011759:Pyrrolidines; D000094982:Synthetic Cathinone
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