Drug Information Bulletin on Selected Abused Drugs in Hong Kong

The Controlled Drugs Sections undertake analysis of substances suspected to be controlled under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, the Antibiotics Ordinance or the Control of Chemicals Ordinance.

Cases submitted to the sections contain items ranging from drugs of abuse seized from addicts to large consignments of pharmaceutical products seized from illegal clinics and unauthorised sellers, as well as drugs, chemicals and paraphernalia from illicit drugs manufacturing scenes. The major clients are the Hong Kong Police Force, the Customs and Excise Department and the Pharmaceutical Service of the Department of Health.

Liquid Chromatograph - Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer

Every effort is made in the analytical procedure to eliminate error by improving analytical techniques and enforcing a rigorous checking procedure to ensure that accuracy is of the highest standard. Every item is screened systematically for any controlled substances. Each suspicious drug substance is then structurally confirmed by infrared spectrometry and/or mass spectroscopy and quantified by chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. All results are subjected to a rigorous two-tier checking system.