Needs and Research Gaps Surrounding Safe Handling of Synthetic Opioids and Other Emerging Compounds of Concern

As part of NIST's response to the 2023 TRANQ Research Act, we have started a series of workshop to better understand the current states and needs surrounding drug detection, analysis, and monitoring from the perspective of different stakeholder communities.

Last year, a workshop was hosted to identify the analytical and data challenges surrounding drug detection and identification. This workshop intends to extend the conversation to better understand current practices and research gaps surrounding the safe handling of synthetic opioids and related compounds. The specific goals of this workshop are:

1) Capture the current state of safe handling practices across professions that actively encounter synthetic opioids and other illicit drugs.

2) Understand what research is currently being completed to help inform safe handling practices.

3) Identify research, documentary, policy, and other needs that would lead to the development and deployment of evidence based best practices.

The workshop will be highly interactive and will require active participation from everyone involved.