Date of Award
Spring 5-1-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department/Program
Criminal Justice
Language
English
First Advisor or Mentor
Ric Curtis
Second Reader
Louis Kontos
Abstract
The unregulated drug supply in the United States has become increasingly unpredictable, contributing to persistently high overdose mortality, particularly in structurally marginalized communities such as the South Bronx. While drug adulteration has long been present in illicit markets, the number and pharmacological diversity of adulterants remained limited for much of the twentieth century. Over the past decade, however, the drug supply has undergone a significant transformation marked by the proliferation of potent synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and its analogues, frequently combined with novel sedatives and chemically diverse adulterants. These shifts have introduced increasing chemical complexity into the street drug supply. Many of these compositional changes originate upstream during large-scale manufacturing and distribution rather than at the point of retail sale, where sellers typically lack the technical capacity to substantially alter drug composition.
Drug checking is a community-based public health intervention that uses analytical techniques to identify the contents of substances circulating in the unregulated drug supply. In addition to supporting individual harm reduction, drug checking also functions as a form of real-time surveillance capable of identifying emerging substances and monitoring shifts in local drug markets.
This study analyzes drug checking results collected through a harm reduction program in the South Bronx to characterize changes in the local drug supply and the increasing pharmacological complexity of substances sold as opioids. Using de-identified data collected during routine service delivery and additional information gathered through secondary laboratory testing, this paper examines discrepancies between expected and detected substances and compositional changes within samples over time, demonstrating how drug-market mismatch reflects broader structural dynamics within the contemporary illicit drug market.
Recommended Citation
Rodriguez, Yeireline, "Chemical Variability in the Unregulated Opioid Supply in the South Bronx" (2026). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/jj_etds/403
