Credit: UN
The Forensic Science Symposium, held online from 2 to 4 September 2025, continues to be a cornerstone event in the global response to drug-related threats. Co-organized by the Asian Forensic Sciences Network, the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Symposium brings together over 1,000 forensic experts from more than 100 countries, making it the largest international forum on drugs for forensic scientists worldwide.
This annual gathering serves as a global hub for scientific exchange and collaboration, enabling laboratories to anticipate emerging threats and develop unified, evidence-based responses to increasingly complex challenges in drug control.
The global drug market is becoming more unpredictable and multifaceted, driven by rapid innovation in synthetic substances, dangerous mixtures, and toxic adulterants. Forensic science plays a critical role in identifying these substances and guiding both health and law enforcement responses.
“The Forensic Science Symposium helps understand that our problems are not only local but that there is a global dimension” said Martin Raithelhuber, a synthetic drug expert with UNODC.
For example, ketamine, a dissociative anaesthetic widely used in human and veterinary medicine, is not under international control, though many countries regulate it nationally. Its non-medical use has expanded to additional countries and user groups, raising serious health concerns.
The Symposium has proven to be a catalyst for early warning and coordinated action. In 2024, information on the emergence of etomidate, another anaesthetic, on the illicit drug market in Hong Kong, China, shared at the Symposium prompted action in other countries.
“This information helped us in horizon scanning and early detection. Indeed soon after the symposium, we saw the emergence of etomidate in vaping products in Singapore. Early awareness had enabled our laboratory to develop appropriate analytical methods for new drugs of abuse before their emergence in our local drug market,” said Mei Ching Ong of the Health Sciences Authority, Singapore.
Such insights have already shaped national policies and contributed to international drug control efforts.
The Symposium underscores the importance of international collaboration in addressing drug-related threats.
“It’s important to have international collaboration among regional forensic science networks. The Forensic Science Symposium is a unique event, bringing together almost the whole world. It helps us understand different needs and assess problems from diverse perspectives," said Nataša Radosavljević-Stevanović of the Technics Police Directorate, Serbia.
This year’s discussions include topics such as plant-based and semi-synthetic new psychoactive substances (NPS), practical applications of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in laboratory collaboration, and forensic sciences collaborating for early warning.
The Forensic Science Symposium, an activity supported by the UNODC Synthetic Drug Strategy, continues to unite the global forensic community, ensuring that science leads the way in protecting public health and shaping drug policies. Shared expertise and early awareness of new trends enable faster, more effective responses—because no single country can solve global drug challenges alone.
Republished courtesy of UN Office on Drugs and Crime