This podcast episode is the first of the season focusing on community-based solutions for substance use challenges; it discusses how the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner uses COSSUP funding to improve their drug testing and analysis processes.
In this Just Science podcast episode, the host, Dr. Lawrence Mullen, discusses how the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (DC OCME) uses funding from the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA’s) Comprehensive Opioid Stimulant and Substance Use Program (COSSUP) to improve their drug testing and analysis processes. Guest Dr. Samantha Tolliver, the chief toxicologist at DC OCME, talks about what the role of a forensic toxicologist is and how it fits into Washington, DC’s approach to the overdose epidemic, and some of the challenges of keeping up with emerging drug trends as well as the ever-present fentanyl. Dr. Tolliver also discusses how to identify the need for federal funding, and why her office applied for the COSSUP grant, how the office designed the COSSUP program, and how it addresses the needs of DC OCME. Dr. Tolliver also explains what high resolution mass spectrometry is; how to train for that type of technology and how long the training takes; and how the implementation of high resolution mass spectrometry helps with analyzing, reporting, and informing the public about new drug trends. Dr. Tolliver goes on to discuss how her lab is evaluating the outcomes of the COSSUP project, and provides advice for other toxicology labs that may want to implement that type of technology.