Tracking trends in new psychoactive substance poisonings with Annette Nugteren-van Lonkhuyzen

In this episode, Dr Elle Wadsworth talks to Annette Nugteren-van Lonkhuyzen, a PhD student and toxicologist at the Dutch National Poisons Information Centre in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The interview covers Annette’s research article examining trends in new psychoactive substance (NPS) poisonings in the Netherlands over a 14-year period.

• The definition of new psychoactive substances [01:05]
• The wider legal context in the Netherlands surrounding NPS [01:40]
• The legal status of new psychoactive substances in Annette’s study [03:16]
• The motivation behind the study [03:49]
• The data source used in this study [06:19]
• The key findings with regards to total new psychoactive substance poisonings [08:46]
• The key findings throughout the different new psychoactive substance classes [09:33]
• Annette's surprising findings [11:46]
• Changes in trends before and after a law change [13:18]
• The differences in results according to the data sources used [15:30]
• The utility of poison centre data for monitoring drug markets [17:00]

About Elle Wadsworth: Elle is an academic fellow with the Society for the Study of Addiction. She is based at the University of Bath with the Addiction and Mental Health Group and her research interests include drug policy, cannabis legalisation, and public health. Elle holds a voluntary role at The Loop, a non-profit service provider of drug checking in the UK.

About Annette Nugteren-van Lonkhuyzen: Johanna J. (Annette) (MSc, ERT) studied Biomedical Sciences at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Since 2009, she has worked at the Dutch National Poisons Information Centre (NVIC) in Utrecht, initially as a Specialist in Poisons Information (SPI) and subsequently as a researcher. In 2023, she obtained her registration as a European Registered Toxicologist (ERT). Annette is currently completing her PhD research on the monitoring and early detection of health incidents involving new psychoactive substances (NPS).

Declarations of interest: None

Original article: Trends in new psychoactive substance poisonings in the Netherlands: A 14-year retrospective analysis (2012–2025) https://doi.org/10.1111/add.70511

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