Home > Detection of anabolic-androgenic steroids in e-cigarettes seized from prisons: a case study.

Harries, Richard L and Norman, Caitlyn and Reid, Robert and NicDaéid, Niamh and Nisbet, Lorna A (2024) Detection of anabolic-androgenic steroids in e-cigarettes seized from prisons: a case study. Forensic Science International, 356, 111965. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.111965.

External website: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/...


The administration of new psychoactive substances (NPS), in particular synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs), via e-cigarettes, within prison settings has been well publicized. This study provides an overview of five e-cigarette case samples seized from Scottish prisons between May 2022 and July 2023 where the anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs) mestanolone and oxandrolone were identified following gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. These e-cigarette samples represented 2.9% of all samples containing e-cigarette cartridges (n = 170) and 9.4% of all samples found to contain AASs (n = 53) seized during the same time period. The AASs were detected in combination with other drugs, including cocaine, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), SCRAs and nicotine. This represents a new and novel route of administration for AASs.

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