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Licit and illicit drugs
Published in Jason Payne-James, Richard Jones, Simpson's Forensic Medicine, 2019
Jason Payne-James, Richard Jones
Multiple new drugs are increasingly becoming available as governments limit the availability and legality of so-called ‘legal highs’. For example, ‘Spice’ has recently become popular. It is sold mostly over the Internet and at ‘head shops’. Spice is the popular name for a molecule named JWH-018 (1-pentyl-3-[1-napthoyl]indole). It exerts many of the same effects as the cannabinoids but has a completely different structure. Although the structure of Spice is very different from THC, it nonetheless avidly binds at the same C1 and C2 receptor, at exactly the same sites where THC is active. The effects produced are said to be the same as smoking marijuana, but are believed to last much longer. The potential use of this compound as a transdermal pain reliever is under investigation, but if it ever does come to market there will, no doubt, be a thriving black-market trade.
The Culture on Campus
Published in Jonathan C. Beazley, Stephanie Field, Cannabis on Campus, 2018
Jonathan C. Beazley, Stephanie Field
Dr. Anderson explains that the NCAA initially investigated the feasibility of testing for synthetic marijuana (the NCAA even added K2, Spice, JWH-018, and JWH-073 to the list of banned substances in 2011), but adding it to their testing protocol was challenging. “The lab that the NCAA uses, the UCLA lab, felt that, at that time, the tests were not up to the quality that the results could be used in a forensic setting.” A testing protocol was finally implemented in August 2013.31
Taser—Conducted Electrical Weapons
Published in Darrell L. Ross, Gary M. Vilke, Guidelines for Investigating Officer-Involved Shootings, Arrest-Related Deaths, and Deaths in Custody, 2018
Mark W. Kroll, Michael A. Brave
□ Test for the classical drugs (heroin, methamphetamine, MDMA, LSD, and cocaine). Also, test for THC as this is being increasingly linked to unexpected death (Bachs & Morland, 2001; Sattout & Nicol, 2009). Also, request testing for newer dangerous synthetics, such as K2/Spice, bath salts and JWH-018 (found in fake marijuana) (Angoa-Perez et al., 2011; Murray, Murphy, & Beuhler, 2012; Prosser & Nelson, 2011; Rosenbaum, Carreiro, & Babu, 2012; Ross, Watson, & Goldberger, 2011; Spiller, Ryan, Weston, & Jansen, 2011). (See Chronic Medical Information section.)
The synthetic cannabinoids phenomenon: from structure to toxicological properties. A review
Published in Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 2020
Vera L. Alves, João L. Gonçalves, Joselin Aguiar, Helena M. Teixeira, José S. Câmara
SCs emerged in the 1970s when researchers were first exploring the endocannabinoid system and attempting to develop new treatments for cancer pain (Lafaye et al. 2017; Papaseit et al. 2018). The first SCs were synthesized by academic laboratories or the pharmaceutical industry (Papaseit et al. 2018). The synthesis of selective cannabinoid receptor agonists with particular reference to their antinociceptive activity started at Pfizer in 1974 with cyclohexylphenol (CP 55,940) followed by the HU-210 compound synthetized in 1988 by Mechoulam’s group at the Hebrew University (De Luca and Fattore 2018). John W. Huffman, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Clemson University in South Carolina and his team of researchers were involved in the synthesis of novel cannabinoids with some of the properties of Δ9-THC (Wiley et al. 2011). Huffman’s research focused on synthesizing small molecules that could be applied as new pharmaceutical analgesics, particularly molecules that bind to cannabinoid brain (CB1) and peripheral (CB2) receptors. JWH-018 is one among several hundred analgesic drug candidates synthesized by him (Nagarkatti et al. 2009; Preedy 2016a).
Fatal intoxication with new synthetic cannabinoids AMB-FUBINACA and EMB-FUBINACA
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2019
Piotr Adamowicz, Ewa Meissner, Marta Maślanka
Synthetic cannabinoids are currently the largest group of new psychoactive substances monitored by both the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) [1–3]. Seizures of these types of substances have dominated the global amount of new psychoactive substances seised [2]. The popularity of this group of compounds is supported by the number of many serious poisonings, including fatalities [1]. Synthetic cannabinoids represent a wide group of compounds with different chemical structures that all share the ability to affect the cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) in the body, mimicking the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of cannabis [1]. JWH-018 was the first synthetic cannabinoid detected in smoking mixtures, in 2008 [1]. Since then, over 251 different synthetic cannabinoids have been reported to UNODC while almost 179 compounds from this group were notified to the EMCDDA by 2017 [2,3]. This upward trend is maintained because synthetic cannabinoids that become subjected to legal control are replaced by new uncontrolled substances.
Old and new synthetic cannabinoids: lessons from animal models
Published in Drug Metabolism Reviews, 2018
Mary Tresa Zanda, Liana Fattore
Two compounds of the naphthoylindoles family, JWH-018 and JHW-073, fully substitute and generalize for THC in trained mice (Brents et al. 2013; Gatch and Forster 2014; Marshell et al. 2014), rats (Järbe et al. 2011; Wiley et al. 2014) and rhesus monkeys (Ginsburg et al. 2012). A synergistic substitution effect of JWH-018 and JHW-073 for THC has also been reported when the two synthetic cannabinoid agonists are administered jointly (Brents et al. 2013). Other compounds of the JWH series, such as JWH-122, JWH-200, JWH-201, JWH-203, JWH-210, and JWH-250, fully substitute for THC (Gatch and Forster 2014, 2016; Wiley et al. 2014). However, the JWH-320 compound fails to substitute for THC, probably due to its low affinity for the CB1 cannabinoid receptor (Wiley et al. 2014). When the JWH-018 compound is used as training drug in drug discrimination procedures, it readily establishes a discriminative stimulus effect in rats (Wiley et al. 2014) and rhesus monkeys (Rodriguez and McMahon 2014) and is fully substituted by THC, WIN 55,212-2, and CP 55,940 (Rodriguez and McMahon 2014; Wiley et al. 2014). Other synthetic cannabinoid agonists of more recent generation, the indole-derivative compounds UR-144 and XLR-11, fully substitute for THC in a dose-dependent manner (Wiley et al. 2013). Likewise, compounds of the aminoalkylindole family, such as AM678, AM2201, AM2233, and AM5983, exhibit full substitution and generalization to THC and show higher potency when compared to THC (Järbe et al. 2011, 2016).