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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

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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.

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Acknowledgments

This research was partly supported by the Traffic Safety Committee of Insurance Companies (VALT) that provided financial support to the first author. This funding has been greatly appreciated.

Additionally, the authors would like to thank (in alphabetical order) Esa Anttila, Niall Doherty, Hannu Hämäläinen, Olavi Klemola, Markku Pekkola, Sanna Taskinen, Petri Varpanen and Lars Wilhelm for their invaluable assistance.

Compliance with ethical standards

The study was conducted in accordance with all applicable local and international laws and regulations. For this type of study, formal consent is not required.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Helsinki, PO Box 40, FI-00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Pirkko Kriikku & Ilkka Ojanperä

  2. Vita Laboratory, Vita Health Care Services Ltd, Helsinki, Finland

    Pirkko Kriikku & Jukka Hurme

  3. National Bureau of Investigation Forensic Laboratory, Vantaa, Finland

    Janne Rintatalo

  4. Finnish Medicines Agency, Helsinki, Finland

    Katja Pihlainen

Authors
  1. Pirkko Kriikku
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  2. Janne Rintatalo
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  3. Katja Pihlainen
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  4. Jukka Hurme
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  5. Ilkka Ojanperä
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pirkko Kriikku.

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Kriikku, P., Rintatalo, J., Pihlainen, K. et al. 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. Int J Legal Med 129, 741–749 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-015-1184-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-015-1184-4

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