The Analytical Toxicology – Pharmaceutical Chemistry Service of the LNS Forensic Medicine Department was accredited according to ISO 17025 by the Office Luxembourgeois d’Accréditation et de Surveillance (OLAS) on 17 January 2022.

The ISO 17025 standard is the international reference for testing laboratories. It establishes the general requirements of competence, impartiality and coherence of the laboratory’s activities, thus guaranteeing the quality of the techniques used, the analyses performed and the reliability of the results produced.

The service headed by Dr sc. Serge Schneider is accredited for the following analyses: heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). These analyses are mainly carried out on samples seized by the Grand-Ducal Police or the Customs Administration, but also on behalf of the Ministry of Health as part of the quality control of medicinal cannabis and hemp-based products available in Luxembourg.

In 2021, the Analytical Toxicology-Pharmaceutical Chemistry Service processed up to 1,800 samples of cannabis, 1,100 samples of cocaine, 500 samples of heroin and 70 samples of ecstasy, representing approximately 80% of the samples analysed during the year. In 2022, the focus will be on developing and then accrediting the analysis of certain drugs and medicines in wastewater.

This new accreditation reinforces the LNS’s position as a centre of excellence and expertise in the service of health.

Huge thanks to the Analytical Toxicology-Pharmaceutical Chemistry team who worked hard to obtain this accreditation.