In a June 10, 2015 press release, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced that an ongoing law enforcement initiative to reduce heroin trafficking in the St. Louis area has culminated in the arrests of over 50 individuals as well as the seizure of multiple weapons and large quantities of heroin. The 10-month effort represented the first major action of the St. Louis Heroin Initiative, a collection of federal, state, and local authorities that work together to reduce the surging use of heroin in the St. Louis region (51 Arrested in Major Heroin Takedown).

 

In the operation, authorities seized 28 weapons and over 34,000 dosage units of heroin. Those arrested were charged with possession, trafficking, and weapons violations. Several were also charged with involuntary manslaughter as a result of heroin overdose deaths.

 

The DEA's press release suggests that this takedown is illustrative of several new heroin use trends that have emerged in the US over the last decade. These trends include increased heroin-related overdose deaths, expanding availability of high purity heroin, and the adulteration of heroin with fentanyl analogs - synthetic analgesics that can be 30-50 times more potent than heroin. A DEA official commented that a future hope for the St. Louis Heroin Initiative is to include partners outside of law enforcement, such as educators, treatment providers, health departments and other local entities.  

 

Cerilliant Certified Spiking Solutions® of opiates and synthetic analgesics include metabolites, parent drugs, impurities, and degradants as well as their stable-labeled internal standards. These solution standards are suitable for a wide range of GC/MS or LC/MS testing applications ranging from clinical toxicology, forensic analysis, urine drug testing, and pharmaceutical research to calibrator preparation and isotope dilution methods. Since opiates and synthetic analgesics are classified as controlled substances, Cerilliant supplies most of these reference standards as DEA-exempt solutions for added convenience.

 

Cerilliant reference standards are manufactured and certified to the highest industry standards including ISO Guide 34, ISO/IEC 17025, and ISO 13485. Each Certified Spiking Solution® is supported by a comprehensive Certificate of Analysis (COA) which provides all analytical data and uncertainty and traceability information to support regulatory requirements.

 

Click on the links below to view our complete listing of opiate and synthetic analgesic certified reference standards: