New psychoactive substances as adulterants of controlled drugs. A worrying phenomenon?

Abstract

The use of new psychoactive substances (NPS) as adulterants has received little attention in the literature. In this paper, results from Energy Control's drug checking service documenting the use of NPS as adulterants of controlled drugs are presented, and some reflections about possible explanations for this new phenomenon, potential risks for users, and challenges that it poses are discussed. From 2009 to 2012, 24 NPS belonging to several chemical classes such as phenethylamines, substituted cathinones, tryptamines, and methoxetamine were identified in 173 samples believed to be MDMA, amphetamine, ketamine, cocaine, mescaline, or methamphetamine. The NPS adulterant most frequently observed was 2-(4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethanamine (2C-B) followed by 1-(4-fluorophenyl)propan-2-amine (4-FA). Sixty-nine different combinations of substances were detected: 20 involving a controlled drug combined with an NPS, and 49 involving one or more NPS that substituted the controlled drug. As these combinations could pose substantial risks to users, the need to improve knowledge about toxicity associated with these combinations, and the danger of these substances being incorporated into the products of illegal markets, are highlighted. Drug checking services and the European Union's early-warning system operated by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and Europol can play an important role in reducing the harm associated with this phenomenon.

Drug testing, accuracy and harm reduction: a response to Barratt & Ezard

“…Our statements were regarding rapid testing, those which are similar to the process we undertook for the purpose of the study. The studies Barratt & Ezard cite for drug testing [5][6][7][8] all require further testing beyond what a consumer would be able to do quickly and easily in a busy nightlife environment [9]. We are certainly aware of efforts in other countries, such as Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, that involve testing and note that, while providing important harm reduction information for patrons, these tests also take a substantial amount of time.…”

“…Bird & Hutchinson were among the first to highlight the risk of post-release mortality and the importance of addressing this particular risk [2]. Opioid substitution therapy (OST) while in custody has been proposed as a means to decrease post-release drug-related deaths, through maintenance of opioid tolerance and reduced likelihood of illicit opioid use [3,4] and improved linkage to treatment after release [5]. Bird and colleagues reported recently that the proportion of drug-related deaths across Scotland in the 12 weeks following release from prison that occurred within the first 2 weeks post-release did not change following the introduction of OST in Scottish prisons [4].…”

“…However, they do not discuss the role of prison OST in maximizing engagement in care on return to the community-and therefore maximizing protection against drug-related mortality and reincarceration. Recent work in the United States comparing usual care (in this instance, forced withdrawal from OST) to continued OST demonstrated that entry to community OST within 1 month of prison release was twice as likely among those who remained in OST while in custody [5]. These findings [3,5,7] suggest that examining outcomes of prison OST in isolation from the broader context of treatment as a process that continues prior to, during and after imprisonment is inadequate for understanding treatment effects.…”

An approach to the new psychoactive drugs phenomenon

“…Likewise, the NPD can appear on the market under the guise of supervised drugs or as an alternatives to said drug. For instance, methoxetamine was sold as a legal alternative to ketamine, while 25I-NBOMe has been sold both as if it were a legal option for LSD and as if it were LSD (Giné, Espinosa & Vilamala, 2014;Lawn, Barratt, Williams, Horne & Winstock, 2014).…”

Analysis of Blotter Papers Employed in the Commercialization of New Hallucinogenic Substances of the 2,5-Dimethoxy-N-(2-methoxybenzyl) Phenethylamine Series Seized in the City of Bogotá by Applying Gas Chromatography Coupled to a Selective Mass Ion Trap Detector

“…3 In the latter drug family, it is common to find previously described derivatives from the 2,5-dimethoxy-phenethylamine (2C series), 4,5 which are known as the 2,5-dimethoxy-N-(2-methoxybenzyl) phenethylamine (NBOMe) family; this last group of novel synthetic hallucinogens 6 is synthesized by substituting the nitrogen (N) of the 2C series with a 2-methoxybenzyl (BOMe) group. 1 Figure 1 shows the structural relationship between the 2C series and its derivative NBOMe.…”