Information from a range of sources in the UK and Europe indicate that some users of new psychoactive substances (NPS) are at risk of a number of serious adverse effects. Principally these include the direct or acute physical, psychological and behavioural effects following use, as well as the potential for increased engagement with criminal justice services. Longer term, or chronic effects are, in the main, poorly evidenced. This project is designed to inform both.

October 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of the WEDINOS programme, along with receipt, analysis and the publications of results of the first sample. This was an unknown white powder, submitted via one of the communitybased drug services. Following analysis this sample that had caused the unexpected effects of nosebleeds, depression and suicidal ideation, was profiled as containing para-chloroamphetamine, amphetamine, N-ethylnorketamine and benzocaine. Since then, WEDINOS has monitored drug trends across the UK, whilst sharing information with, and receiving information from, regional, national and international partners to ensure the continued provision of timely and pragmatic harm reduction information for people who use drugs and those working or concerned with the well-being of people who use drugs. WEDINOS routinely feeds drug market data into a far reaching and varied collection of services, from local drug services to members of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine in Wales, through to the UK National Drug Alerts System and the Advisory Council for Misuse of Drugs; also wider to the Trans European Drugs Information project and the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime. This is not an exclusive list, with WEDINOS providing information to a number of other organisations concerned in the welfare of people who use drugs....

Total to date (Project launch 1st October 2013 to 31st March 2024):

• 43,564 samples received
• 38,884 analysed
• 641 substances identified either in isolation or combination.
• Over 300 organisations and services
• Ø Including: Emergency Departments, Local Health Teams, Substance Misuse Services, Housing and Homelessness, Education Centres, Training Providers, Night Time Economy (NTE) Venues, Festivals, Criminal Justice Services and Welsh Prisons
• Ø Samples are also provided by individuals not engaged with / accessing services 

This Year (2023-2024):

• 8,466 samples received representing an increase from 7,744 in 2022/23.
• Ø 7,064 analysed UP from 6,656 

• Community samples increased to 5,793 from 4,979
• Ø 206 substances identified UP from 185
• Ø Samples received from 96 different organisations, services and Night Time Economy (NTE) venues as well as from individuals
• Ø Median age of sample providers is 34 years (range 12 to 80 years)
• Ø As in the previous six years benzodiazepines were the most commonly identified class of psychoactive substance with 19 benzodiazepines identified 

• Cocaine was the most commonly identified substance overall
• Most commonly identified substance in the community was diazepam, followed by bromazolam
• Cocaine was the most commonly identified substance in the NTE
• Criminal justice settings – the Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist (SCRA) MDMB-BUTINACA was the most commonly identified substance