Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

Sponsored Content by PittconReviewed by Danielle Ellis, B.Sc.Aug 26 2025

In this interview, Jonathan Ferguson discusses really knowledge of an emerging nationalist wellness interest identified astatine Pittcon 2024 has evolved a twelvemonth on.

Can you present yourself, your background, and your domiciled astatine Shimadzu?

I'm Jonathan Ferguson, nan Scientific Business Leader successful nan New Strategy Department astatine Shimadzu Scientific Instruments. I'm based successful Columbia, Maryland.

I grew up successful a mini municipality successful Illinois pinch just 250 to 300 people. I’ve ever loved learning really things work. I find it highly breathtaking to observe thing caller that contributes to nan wider assemblage of knowledge connected a subject, whether a novel protein modification or an unexplored biochemical mechanism.

I was successful Professor Neil Kelleher's laboratory erstwhile he was astatine nan University of Illinois successful Urbana-Champaign. I retrieve stepping to his laboratory and seeing nan Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometer (FT-ICR MS) pinch its massive 8.5 Tesla magnet.

The instrumentality was hand-built and not commercialized, which meant it was imaginable to tinker pinch everything. I had nan opportunity to hands-on troubleshoot and study really it functioned and repair it. The magnitude you study from that hands-on attack is conscionable incredible.

Can you show america much astir nan symposium you presented astatine past year’s Pittcon?

In 2024, Pittcon had its first Psychedelic Symposium. My position was connected nan value power of people occurring psilocybin-containing compounds intended for objective tests and nan curen of depression. These compounds are often mushrooms, and sometimes, these are put successful chocolates and gummies disposable online aliases from convenience stores, caput shops, aliases moreover state stations successful places for illustration Oregon, wherever psilocybin has been legalized astatine nan authorities level.

I was nan 2nd speaker astatine that symposium. The first was Fritsch USA, who discussed bully milling strategies and nan request for bully sample preparation. The Scottsdale Research Institute (Scottsdale, AZ and nan only DEA licensed grower of psychedelic mushrooms) gave nan 3rd talk, and Rose City Laboratories (Portland, OR) wrapped up pinch nan 4th session.

At that 4th talk, Bjorn Fritzsche, nan elder R&D intelligence astatine Rose City Laboratories, concluded his talk by sharing information connected products that he acquired astatine state stations and caput shops that were marketed pinch mushroom-like labels. It is important to statement that these products are NOT tested arsenic portion of nan Oregon Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ORELAP). He ran nan samples connected his GC-MS (gas chromatography - wide spectrometry) strategy and identified cannabinoids and equine tranquilizers, which was rather surprising.

Pittcon addresses synthetic psychedelics crisis; Boston 2025 to beforehand collaboration

We're progressively discovering that what's connected nan packaging for these types of products does not lucifer what nan merchandise contains.

While this section tin beryllium thing of a ‘wild west’ pinch galore moving targets, nan advertised contents should lucifer what’s really successful nan merchandise from a consumer’s constituent of view. This is particularly important because consumers could unknowingly beryllium purchasing vulnerable ingredients.

I judge that's erstwhile nan word ‘syndelics’ (synthetic psychedelics) was coined? Can you show america much astir your collaborative activity successful this area?

After Bjorn Fritzsche discovered these compounds, we wanted to prosecute this area of investigation further. We connected Rose City Laboratories pinch Richard Van Breemen astatine nan Linus Pauling Institute (Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR) to alteration a deeper study and hopefully corroborate what was seen successful these samples.

This activity was absorbing because this symposium was expected to beryllium astir value power methodologies successful accredited labs, but it led to nan find of unexpected synthetic psychedelics successful user products.

We are presently moving connected a manuscript to people successful a peer-reviewed journal, and we'll coming immoderate of this absorbing but somewhat alarming information astatine early conferences.

At Pittcon, location are talks connected cannabis edibles and nan regularisation of these products. How important is Pittcon successful facilitating these conversations and bringing these issues to light?

I deliberation it's very important. Pittcon is much than conscionable an accumulation hallway and a abstraction for marketing. It's a hub for collaboration and invention that allows researchers, customers, and companies to travel together to activity connected communal problems and people investigation together.

Without that forum, these types of relationships wouldn't occur. I want to convey Pittcon for establishing an situation wherever we tin travel together to activity connected subject that's absorbing and meaningful and has a existent effect connected everyone.

Historically, we’d spot chemists moving unsocial successful basements, but that doesn't hap anymore. We request galore researchers to activity connected these projects because we each person different expertise. Without these collaborations, we wouldn't beryllium capable to move subject guardant arsenic quickly arsenic we do.

Image Credit: Cannabis_Pic/Shutterstock.com

In position of nationalist wellness hazards for illustration nan 1 I mentioned, it’s besides important to talk astir what we are going to do astir it. For example, Shimadzu Scientific Instruments tin get nan accusation retired by having nan information grounded successful bully science, presenting it, and publishing it. I deliberation it’s astir important that we reside these problems from a bully actual foundation.

What are immoderate of nan astir communal challenges successful detecting nan perchance harmful substances hidden successful these products?

Analyzing nan gummies and chocolates I mentioned presents different challenges. The matrix (the gummy aliases nan chocolate) will characteristic different compounds that are expected to beryllium there, but tin interfere pinch our analysis. So, we request to deliberation astir really to hole that sample truthful that we tin precisely target our analytes of interest.

Detecting and identifying adulterants successful these products tin beryllium difficult because they’re not being manufactured successful a regulated way. For example, we don't cognize what was introduced into nan sample, and location tin beryllium specified a wide assortment of variations and substituents successful these molecules that analyzing them presents a existent challenge.

This is famously called nan ‘unknown unknowns,’ wherever while we cognize we person to look for immoderate things, ingredients whitethorn beryllium added that we really don't expect and are presently trying to detect. Furthermore, what we’re looking for tin alteration from sample to sample.

What Shimadzu technologies person been utilized successful this collaborative project? Are location different examples wherever circumstantial technological approaches person been utilized to meet analytical challenges?

I would reason that liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is still nan golden modular successful this investigation area. Bjorn Fritzsche’s study was done by state chromatography/mass spectrometry, which is besides a bully method that goes manus successful manus pinch LC-MS.

Richard Van Breemen uses a Shimadzu quadrupole time-of-flight instrumentality because it has higher solution and higher wide accuracy—an important information erstwhile dealing pinch nan ‘unknown unknowns’ that I've talked about.

However, utilizing that high-end exertion tin sometimes beryllium excessively much. When I gave nan 2nd talk of nan symposium, my attraction was connected providing a methodology that only utilized liquid chromatography pinch ultraviolet discovery (LC-UV).

This methodology is not arsenic specific, but pinch nan correct approach, you tin tally these kinds of samples overmuch much cost-effectively than via higher-spec instruments. UV is not arsenic meticulous successful nan consciousness that location is nary wide to charge, but erstwhile we activity retired nan applicable retention times and cognize what nan applicable absorbance profiles look like, we tin usage a method called IPDeA to cleanable up nan chromatogram. This allows america to execute very meticulous quantitation results much cheaply.

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Hidden Public Health Risk | Pittcon Thought Leader: Dr. Jonathan Ferguson

This cost-effectiveness is important because we want to prevention lives. If only a fistful of group successful nan world tin analyse these samples effectively, nan results will not beryllium helpful.

Shimadzu Scientific Instruments is simply a leader successful liquid chromatography and wide spectrometry, but reasoning moreover beyond that, I was astatine a talk connected processing a method wherever 1 of nan requirements was not to usage power.

Some parts of nan world don't person entree to reliable energy aliases immoderate electricity, and, astatine nan moment, I don't cognize anybody who makes an LC-MS that doesn't require electricity. Those customers person a different group of requirements. For example, they mightiness request to usage an analytical instrumentality that is antibody-based aliases that changes colour successful nan beingness of nan analyte.

With nan psychedelics marketplace group to turn successful nan US, what are nan awesome challenges pinch regulation, and what would you for illustration to spot change?

There is already a batch of history successful this area. For example, nan advent of hippie civilization successful nan United States successful nan 1970s saw psychedelics listed arsenic a Schedule One drug, which meant that it had nary known aesculapian uses. That fundamentally stopped each investigation into psychedelics for 30 years.

In nan 2000s, things started up again. Companies began doing investigation to find retired what imaginable medicinal uses these substances had. That activity continued, and successful 2019, Denver, Colorado, decriminalized psilocybin. That was quickly followed by Oregon and Colorado State decriminalizing and legalizing psilocybin, pinch Oregon mounting up a regulatory framework. That doesn’t alteration nan truth that it's still forbidden connected nan national level, however.

At Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, we ever do everything done ineligible pathways. That's why we worked pinch Rose City Labs, because they are licensed to tally these samples. Richard Van Breemen besides has a licence to do nan analytics.

There's a batch you tin do pinch conscionable standards, but having these collaborations, peculiarly successful nan psychedelics field, is truthful important because we are constricted successful our expertise to study these substances successful a ineligible way.

I’m not an master connected nan regulatory side, but I do judge that group should cognize what they are consuming and that what is connected nan package should lucifer what is successful nan product.

What other is adjacent for this collaboration, and for Shimadzu Scientific Instruments successful general?

In position of our wider work, we thin to travel what customers need. When location is simply a need, Shimadzu Scientific Instruments will purpose to fulfill it. Some of this activity will beryllium driven by regulations that are beyond our control, but we're ever trying to meet our customers' existent needs while moving to expect what whitethorn beryllium coming next.

We’re led by nan subject connected this collaborative project. As I mentioned, we weren’t going to specifically look astatine gummies and chocolates from caput shops, but that’s wherever nan subject directed us. I deliberation nan results of this activity will punctual a guidance erstwhile group recognize nan imaginable risks associated pinch these products.

I don't spot activity successful nan section stopping anytime soon. There's ever going to beryllium thing other requiring urgent investigation and analysis. To reside these issues, it’s important that we instrumentality to nan fundamentals, support reviewing nan literature, and support establishing collaborations truthful that we tin effort to enactment up of this quickly changing field. Ultimately, this is important because these are people's lives.

About Jonathan Ferguson

Dr. Jonathan T. Ferguson received his Ph.D. successful 2008 from nan University of Illinois astatine Urbana-Champaign, wherever he studied Top-Down proteomics successful nan laboratory of Professor Neil Kelleher. Following his doctoral work, he has developed a wide scope of customer applications involving HPLC coupled pinch various wide spectrometry platforms. His early activity focused connected proteomics, monoclonal antibodies, and nano-LC techniques. Over time, his expertise has expanded to see mini molecule characterization crossed a wide scope of applications.

In 2022, Dr. Ferguson joined Shimadzu Scientific Instruments successful Columbia, MD. In his existent role, he leads collaborative efforts to create innovative hardware and analytical workflows tailored to emerging marketplace needs. His ongoing projects see exertion improvement utilizing Shimadzu’s MALDI-MS systems, nan LCMS-8060RX triple quadrupole, and nan LCMS-9050 Q-TOF. He is besides actively engaged successful nan technological community, presently serving arsenic co-chair of nan Washington–Baltimore Mass Spectrometry Discussion Group (WBMSDG).

About Pittcon

Pittcon is nan world’s largest yearly premier convention and exposition connected laboratory science. Pittcon attracts much than 16,000 attendees from industry, academia and authorities from complete 90 countries worldwide.

Their ngo is to sponsor and prolong acquisition and charitable activities for nan advancement and use of technological endeavor.

Pittcon’s target assemblage is not conscionable “analytical chemists,” but each laboratory scientists — anyone who identifies, quantifies, analyzes aliases tests nan chemic aliases biologic properties of compounds aliases molecules, aliases who manages these laboratory scientists.

Having grown beyond its roots successful analytical chemistry and spectroscopy, Pittcon has evolved into an arena that now besides serves a divers constituency encompassing life sciences, pharmaceutical find and QA, nutrient safety, environmental, bioterrorism and cannabis/psychedelics.