Synthetic drugs: evidence that they can cause cancer

Vienna - Almost weekly, a new synthetic psychoactive drug comes onto the market somewhere in Europe that can be ordered legally and easily, for example as an incense blend, via the Internet. Synthetic cannabinoids are difficult to identify chemically and the possible unwanted toxic effects that can occur following their consumption have so far barely been investigated. As part of the international EU project "SPICE II Plus", which is now coming to an end, scientists from the MedUni Vienna's Institute for Cancer Research have now also found evidence that synthetic substances damage the DNA of human cells and can therefore possibly have cancer-causing effects.