Analysis of illicit drugs seized in the Province of Florence from 2006 to 2016

Comprehension of illicit drug market's features at local level is useful to plan and to correctly set-up specific informative and contrast activities. In this paper we report trends, purities and consumption estimations of illicit substances available on the Florentine territory from 2006 to 2016. These data were obtained by the analysis of 10,451 samples seized by the Law Enforcement Agencies in case of personal use offence. Analytical procedures consisted in targeted and untargeted analyses by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The most detected substances were: cannabis (78.0%; resin: 51.7%; herb: 26.3%), cocaine (10.4%), opiates (6.6%; heroin: 6.5%; morphine: 0.1%), ketamine (1.4%), amphetamines (1.3%; 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine – MDMA –: 0.7%; methamphetamine: 0.6%; amphetamine: <0.1%) and methadone (1.3%). Cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine purities were higher than their mean values estimated for the Italian and European market, while THC content in cannabis seizures was unexpectedly below the European mean values. Starting from 2015, a total of 5 new psychoactive substances (NPS) were detected in seized material, mainly composed of white powders (pentedrone, 3-methylmethcathinone, 4-fluoroamphetamine, methoxethamine and AB-FUBINACA). Most of the seizures (75.5%) were from young male adults (14–34 years old). These data contribute to highlight new trends in the illicit drug market in the Tuscany area, but also to verify the persistence of old habits of drug consumption, confirming the need for more effective counteraction and prevention plans, especially among young people, where the diffusion of the legal highs is worrisome, also in consideration of the young age and the unconsciousness of the possible health effects.