From Russia with love? Report on a new synthetic cannabinoid

Russia’s Health Ministry has recently reported on 25 synthetic cannabinoid-related deaths, along with more than 700 hospitalizations. The substance in question is simply described as MDMB N-Bz F. Average age of the hospitalizations is estimated at 24. According to this article, the substance has sent users “into vegetative state, provoking dementia and even respiratory arrest.” Other reports of this substance include a male who stabbed himself several times after smoking the synthetic cannabinoid product.

Russia’s Federal Drug Control Service (FDCS) has taken steps to control the substance (as well as any other substance “for a year the moment they are discovered”).

So, what is MDMB N-Bz-F?

Well…

No one really knows for sure.

MDMB-CHMINACA is a synthetic cannabinoid derivative of AB-CHMINACA, which is itself a derivative of AB-FUBINACA, which is a derivative of AB-PINACA.

Could MDMB N-Bz-F be a Benzyl Fluoro- derivative? This fluorobenzyl group is also found in FDU-PB-22, FUB-AMB, AB-FUBINACA, ADB-FUBINACA, and FUB-144.

 

 

Maybe. Maybe not.

With these ridiculous and illogical alphabet soup naming conventions for substances, I’m not sure we can make many, if any, inferences about the chemical structure for MDMB-N-Bz-F simply from the abbreviation itself. Ultimately, this substance is merely part of the cat-and-mouse game that we've seen over the last several years.

We’ll see if more is reported on this compound. Since I am having difficulty finding any information on this substance from a chemical structure perspective, I’m honestly not sure how this substance was analytically identified by the Russian authorities. If any Russian friends are reading this blog, please chime in. I’d love your perspective on this one.

Cheers,

FTG