NIST/NIJ Characterized Authentic Drug Sample (CADS) Project

Development and validation of new analytical or data tools for seized drug analysis require demonstration of the approach's ability to accurately detect the components of complex, realistic drug mixtures. However, gaining access to these types of samples, or the data from these types of samples, can be difficult. To help address this gap, the Characterized Authentic Drug Samples (CADS) project aims to: 1) source authentic seized drug samples from collaborating forensic laboratories, 2) characterize the samples using a variety of analytical tools, and 3) make available small amounts of the samples, as well as the corresponding data, to researchers and practitioners.