Notice of Intent – 3 More Synthetic Cannabinoids into Schedule I

Today, December 19, 2014, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) filed a notice of intent for placement of three new synthetic cannabinoids into Schedule I of the Controlled Substance Act (CSA).

These three substances are:

AB-CHMINACA, AB-PINACA, and THJ-2201

All three of the substances have been discussed at one time or another here on TDMTP and are suspected to be CB1/CB2 receptor agonists, but true pharmacological and toxicological evidence does not exist.

 

AB-PINACA is N-(1-amino-3-methyl-1-oxyobutan-2-yl)-1-pentyl-1H-indazole-3-carboxamide. The “alphabet soup” name seems to reside in the following generic name: AminomethloxoButanePentylINdAzoleCarboxAmide. This synthetic cannabinoid was first encountered in March 2013 (reported by the National Forensic Laboratory Information System or NFLIS) and June 2013 (reported by the System to Retrieve Information from Drug Evidence or STRIDE). States reporting detection of this substance in products include AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MI, MN, MO, MS, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI, WV, and WY. From March 2013 to September 2014, there were 4 seizures of this compound (6 kg). Adverse effects from using the substance (as well as AB-CHMINACA discussed below) were seizures and convulsions, unconsciousness and coma, agitation, motor function loss, and respiratory issues. The DEA also reports that there have been at least 3 documented deaths involving AB-PINACA.

Some literature references for AB-PINACA:

Takayama et al. (2014) UPLC/ESI-MS/MS-based determination of metabolism of several new illicit drugs, ADB-FUBINACA, AB-PINACA, QUPIC, 5F-QUPIC, and Alpha-PVT, by human liver microsome. Biomedical Chromatography, 28, 831-838. PMID 24861751.

Thomsen et al. (2014) Synthetic cannabimimetic agents metabolized by carboxylesterases. Drug Testing and Analysis, Article in Press, doi: 10.1002/dta.1731, PMID 25346527.

Shanks et al. (2014) “Case Reports: Fatalities Associated with the Synthetic Cannabinoid, AB-PINACA”, Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT) annual meeting abstract proceedings, Grand Rapids, MI, 2014

AB-CHMINACA is N-(1-amino-3-methyl-1-oxobutan-2-yl)-1-(cyclohexylmethyl)-1H-indazole-3-carboxamide.  The “alphabet soup” name seems to reside in the following generic name: AminomethloxoButaneCycloHexylMethylINdAzoleCarboxAmide. This synthetic cannabinoid was first encountered in February 2014 (NFLIS) and March 2014 (STRIDE). States reporting detection of this substance in products include AR, AZ, CA, CO, GA, IA, IN, KS, KY, LA, MO, ND, NJ, OH, OK, PA, TN, TX, and WI. From February 2014 to September 2014, there were 17 seizures of this compound (15.825 kg). The DEA also reports that there have been at least 4 documented deaths involving AB-CHMINACA.

A literature reference for AB-CHMINACA:

Hasegawa et al. (2014) Postmortem distribution of AB-CHMINACA, 5-fluoro-AMB, and diphenidine in body fluids and solid tissues in a fatal poisoning case: usefulness of adipose tissue for detection of the drugs in unchanged forms. Forensic Toxicology, Article in Press, doi: 10.1007/s11419-014-0245-6

THJ-2201 is [1-(5-fluoropentyl)-1H-indazol-3-yl)naphthalene-1-yl)methanone. This synthetic cannabinoid was first encountered in September 2013 (STRIDE) and January 2014 (NFLIS). States reporting detection of this substance in products include AR, AZ, CT, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MN, MO, ND, NE, NH, NJ, OH, PA, TN, and WI. From September 2013 to September 2014 there were 6 seizures of this compound (5.5 kg). The DEA did not report any information on deaths associated with this compound.

A literature reference for THJ-2201:

Shevyrin et al. (2014) 3-Naphthoylindazoles and 2-naphthoylbenzoimidazoles as novel chemical groups of synthetic cannabinoids: chemical structure elucidation, analytical characterists and identification of the first representatives in smoke mixtures. Forensic Science International, 242, 72-80. PMID 25036783.

So, now after legislation and a few rounds of emergency scheduling, there are 25 synthetic cannabinoid compounds explicitly listed as federally controlled Schedule I substances:

January 2013

AM2201, AM694, CP-47,497, CP-47,497 (C8), JWH-018/AM678, JWH-019,JWH-073, JWH-081, JWH-122, JWH-200, JWH-203, JWH-250, JWH-398, RCS-4/SR-19,RCS-8/SR-18

May 2013

AKB48, UR144, XLR11

February 2014

5F-PB-22, AB-FUBINACA, ADB-PINACA, PB-22

December 2014

AB-CHMINACA, AB-PINACA, THJ-2201

 

Wonder what will be next? Maybe the AMB series? We’ll see. As always, the beat goes on.