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The number of methadone-related deaths (MRDs) during a 10-year period (2002-2011) in the region of Vojvodina, Serbia, was increased. The cases were evaluated according to epidemiological parameters, pathohistological findings, and toxicological screening. The majority of victims were men, aged from 20 to 38. Pathohistologically, the signs of acute focal myocardial damage were present in the heart of victims with drug abuse history shorter than 2 years, while both signs of recent and chronic focal myocardial damage were developed among victims with longer drug abuse history (2-5 years). In postmortem blood samples of 54.84% of victims, methadone was detected in combination with diazepam, both in therapeutic range. Alcohol was absent in most cases. Other detected drugs were antipsychotics and antidepressants in therapeutic concentrations. These findings raise the attention to the concomitant use of methadone and benzodiazepines with the need for further studies to clarify the mechanism of death in such cases.

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The three main cannabinoids ?9-tetrahydrocannabinol (?9- THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN) were identified and determined quantitatively using a GCD (GC-EI) instrument in 280 samples of illicit herbal cannabis, seized by the Police authorities in Novi Sad, during 2008. The samples were sent to the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Clinical Center Vojvodina, for forensic chemical analysis. The cannabinoid content of the samples enabled the classification of the cannabis into three chemical phenotypes and the differentiation into drug and textile-cannabis, using the Waller classification index. This differentiation has great forensic significance in the classification of certain cases as a criminal action. The experimental results showed that the ?9-THC content in illicitly circulated cannabis slightly decreased from January to December 2008, as did the quality of the drug-cannabis. The reasons for the quality variations could lie in the geographical origin of the cannabis plants, the conditions of plants storage, various parts of the plants in samples and the time elapsed between harvesting and chemical analysis.