Associate Professor Dimitri Gerostamoulos presented at the NDARC Webinar Series on Thursday 13 May, 2021.

This presentation provided an overview of new synthetic drugs detected in forensic casework.

The use and prevalence of potent new synthetic drugs has increased substantially over the last few years. Many of these drugs known as novel psychoactive substances (NPS) have resulted in hospitalisation as well as increasing numbers of deaths. This presentation will provide an overview of the range of NPS identified in a forensic setting (both clinical and postmortem) as well as the associated harm-related outcomes.

About the speaker

Dimitri Gerostamoulos is currently is a Toxicologist and Pharmacologist and holds a Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Medicine) in the field of Forensic Toxicology and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Degree, both from Monash University, Victoria, Australia. He has published numerous scientific papers and chapters in books and is an active member of The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT). He is also a member the Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT), Society of Hair Testing (SOHT) and the Forensic and Clinical Toxicology Association of Australasia (FACTA Inc). Dimitri Gerostamoulos is also an approved accreditation assessor for the National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia (NATA) in Forensic Science. Dimitri Gerostamoulos has given evidence in over 150 cases in criminal and civil courts and at coronial Inquests in the field of forensic toxicology and pharmacology and have provided opinions on a number of other cases around Australia in relation to the pharmacology of drugs, effects of drugs in drivers, and analytical and toxicological issues in relation to drugs in hair, blood, urine and other matrices.

Please note: readers and audience are encouraged to go to the presenter’s published paper for the most fulsome account of the research and its findings.