New and emerging drugs in state crime lab evidence: Quarters 2 and 3, 2018
Data source, utility, and limitations
Crime lab data are a partial indicator of the supply of illegal drugs or prescription drugs that are controlled substances and suspected of being purchased or sold illegally. The data presented here are the results of the Washington State Patrol’s Crime Lab chemistry testing of samples submitted by law enforcement. While the data provide important insights into the supply of drugs, in part due to the use of precise chemical testing which indicates exactly which substance is present, they also have numerous important limitations that are described at the bottom of this page.
On this page, quarterly data provided by the Forensic Laboratory Services Bureau are used to identify drugs that appear to be increasing in law enforcement seizures in the most recent quarter. (Data are preliminary and will change. For more on the data, see the details at the end of the page).
Emerging drugs in the second quarter of 2018
State-wide, the second quarter saw a notable increase (more than 100%) in cases testing positive for LSD over the average quarter over 2015 to 2017, which we detail further below:
While 6 counties saw notable increases in cases of tryptamines, for three counties this is but a single case after years of few if any. Grant County stands out with 7 cases in the quarter, versus 16 total over the prior three years. Those 7 cases were comprised of 3 cases of psilocybin/psilocin (psychedelic mushrooms) and 5 of LSD (one case had both). Yakima County's 2 cases were both mushrooms. In all, there were 10 cases of LSD across the state in the quarter.
Preliminary data. Data source: Forensic Laboratory Services Bureau, Washington State Patrol
Grant County also saw an increase in cases of phenethylamines, thanks to jumps in both MDMA (8 cases) and MDA (4 cases; 2 cases had both). We show cases positive for MDMA and/or MDA in the map because the single case for each of Lewis and Whitman Counties represents a jump in MDMA and/or MDA but not in the phenethylamine category, due to the prior presence of other, more rare kinds of phenethylamines. Methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA (known as "Ecstasy") and methylenedioxyamphetamine or MDA (sometimes known as "Sally") are the most common types of phenethylamines, which are consumed recreationally for their mood- and energy-enhancing properties. In all, 5 counties saw increases over the average quarter over the prior three years in MDMA cases, and 3 saw jumps in cases testing positive for MDA.
Preliminary data. Data source: Forensic Laboratory Services Bureau, Washington State Patrol
Grant County (4 cases) also saw a substantial increase over previous years in cases testing positive for benzodiazepines, and the overarching depressant category. Benzodiazepines are a class of drugs prescribed for their sleep-inducing, anti-anxiety, anti-convulsant, sedating, and/or muscle-relaxing qualities. Valium (diazepam), Librium (chlordiazepoxide), and Ativan (lorazepam) are examples of benzodiazepines. They are frequently present in drug poisoning deaths with other drugs, particularly other central nervous system depressants such as opioids and alcohol.
Fentanyl: 4 counties saw greater than 100% increases in the number of cases positive for fentanyl itself, which is available by prescription and often used in surgery, while none saw an increase in any of the fentanyl analogues, most of which are illicit. Snohomish County has had 10 cases test positive for fentanyl so far in 2018 after 10 cases total in 2015 through 2017 and only 1 case ever before 2015. It has yet to see a case of fentanyl analogues.
Preliminary data. Data source: Forensic Laboratory Services Bureau, Washington State Patrol
Buprenorphine: 5 counties, all in central and eastern Washington, saw greater than 100% increases in the number of cases positive for buprenorphine, a medication most commonly used to treat opioid use disorder. While 3 of the 5 saw a single case in the quarter, Whitman County had not had a buprenorphine case since 2014, Walla Walla County has had 3 cases so far in 2018 after 5 total the prior three years, and Klickitat County had had a single case (in 2017) as far back as our data go (2002).
Preliminary data. Data source: Forensic Laboratory Services Bureau, Washington State Patrol
Cannabis: As in the first quarter, Grays Harbor County again saw a large jump in cannabis cases (8) over prior quarters. The county has had 53 cases so far in 2018 versus 41 total the prior three years.
Cocaine: 4 counties saw more than twice as many cocaine cases in the quarter than in the average quarter over the prior three years. Increases in cocaine cases should be interpreted in the context of large decreases since the early 2000s: Snohomish County, for example, has seen 23 cases so far in 2018 after a low of 9 in 2015, but averaged 592 cases per year over 2002 through 2005. See our cocaine page for more information.
Preliminary data. Data source: Forensic Laboratory Services Bureau, Washington State Patrol
Emerging drugs in the third quarter of 2018
There were no emergent trends statewide in the crime lab data for the third quarter. Different counties had small (but more than 100%) jumps in different drugs over the average quarter in 2015-2017:
Prescription stimulants: Grays Harbor County had 2 cases in the third quarter that tested positive for stimulants that are available by prescription (the substances siezed may have been illicitly produced) after seeing 1 such case across the prior three years combined. Similarly, Island County had 1 case this quarter, and 2 so far in 2018, after a single case over the prior five years combined.
Fentanyl: Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid many times more powerful than heroin or morphine. Here we highlight cases of fentanyl itself, and not any of the many analogues. Pierce County has now had 5 cases of fentanyl so far in 2018 after 6 total the prior three years (plus 2 cases of fentanyl analogues in 2017).
Preliminary data. Data source: Forensic Laboratory Services Bureau, Washington State Patrol
Heroin: Walla Walla County had 5 cases positive for heroin in the third quarter, and 14 so far in 2018, after averaging 9.3 cases per year over 2015-2017.
In order to smooth the jumps, we now compare the current quarter to the average quarter over the prior 3 years. This means that an unusually low number of cases in the prior year no longer creates what looks like a substantial increase, which is particularly an issue with relatively rare drug categories and/or small counties.
As we describe elsewhere, there are many limitations of the data, including: county being an imperfect geographic unit to report the data; changes in law enforcement policy, practice and resources over time; and often substantial lags between when drugs were seized by law enforcement and when they were submitted to the lab and then further lags due to testing and reporting.
Truly new drugs present a challenge for crime lab testing: the need for a standard to which to compare the lab sample for identification. Cannabimimetics and novel psychoactive drugs (for example, variations of MDMA), for example, are constantly changing. Often when a particular formulation gains enough notoriety--usually, being made illegal or causing a widely reported death--to warrant a standards company producing a chemical standard and a crime lab buying it, the formulation is changed. Thus, time trends in identified crime lab cases do not capture the initial rise of such a novel substance, but at best its peak and decline. Here we just focus on significant counts of new or rarely-before-seen substances.
In addition to the above issues with crime lab case counts, there are difficulties with reliably assigning a case to a particular quarter. First, the date entered as the received date for a particular case may be a few days after when the case actually arrived at the lab, which might put it into the next quarter. This date clearly comes after the actual arrest. Furthermore, testing takes time, and so results may not come until a subsequent quarter. Sometimes the initial request is for only some of the evidence from a case to be tested, and so the other items might be tested later at prosecutor request, adding further delay between submission and result.
In sum, "quarter" does not mean when law enforcement seized the drug, and counts will likely change. All data presented here are preliminary.
Please refer to the other crime lab data pages for other insight:
(4 cases) also saw a substantial increase over previous years in cases testing positive for benzodiazepines, and the overarching depressant category. Benzodiazepines are a class of drugs prescribed for their sleep-inducing, anti-anxiety, anti-convulsant, sedating, and/or muscle-relaxing qualities. Valium (diazepam), Librium (chlordiazepoxide), and Ativan (lorazepam) are examples of benzodiazepines. They are frequently present in drug poisoning deaths with other drugs, particularly other central nervous system depressants such as opioids and alcohol. 
again saw a large jump in cannabis cases (8) over prior quarters. The county has had 53 cases so far in 2018 versus 41 total the prior three years.
