I've always thought the following would make good toxicology themed names for a rock/metal/punk band:
Gastric Lavage
Postmortem Redistribution
The Iliacs
Antagonism
The LD50s
Serotonin Syndrome
Happy Friday all!
Cheers,
FTG
Friday, May 29, 2015
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Sundown
Gordon
Lightfoot's "Sundown" was released in 1974 and is one of my favorite
songs.
Image of John Belushi in Animal House is from http://ravepad.com/page/john-belushi/images
It
was theorized that he wrote the song about former girlfriend/mistress Cathy Smith.
Lightfoot has gone on to expand on this in interviews and has actually corroborated that he
wrote the song and its lyrics with her on his mind.
Also,
if you're a music fan and a drug history fan, you are probably thinking that the name Cathy Smith is familiar to you. It should be. Cathy Smith was a rock music groupie and drug dealer back in the
1970s. She dealt drugs to Keith Richards and Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones when they toured as The New Barbarians.
Later on, she was the person who injected John Belushi with the fatal
speedballs of cocaine and heroin (supposedly 11 total) in 1982. She served 15 months
in US prison for that episode and was deported back to Canada after her
release.
Anyway,
Sundown is a song with haunting lyrics, if you put them in perspective of the
tumultuous time and relationship between Lightfoot and Smith.
Cheers,
FTG
Cheers,
FTG
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Another day, another flakka story
A new article centered on flakka was published on CNN.com today. And some of it just makes me shake my head. Blatant misinformation as usual in a few aspects.
But like “bath salts”, a group of related synthetic drug that were banned in 2012…
Strength and fury? Nice, but, no, you won't be meeting this guy after taking a dose of flakka (alpha-PVP).
No. It is currently considered a federal Schedule I controlled substance and it isn't coming off that list in any way, shape, or form.
Journalists, there are people out there that could help you, if you'd ask. Please do ask.
Cheers,
FTG
But like “bath salts”, a group of related synthetic drug that were banned in 2012…
No. “Bath
salts” weren’t banned in 2012. Three components commonly found in “bath salts”
products were banned by 2012. These were MDPV, Mephedrone, and Methylone. More "bath salts" compounds, including alpha-PVP, were banned in 2014.
A small overdose of the drug, which can be
smoked, injected, snorted or injected, can lead to a range of extreme symptoms:
“excited delirium,” as experts call it, marked by violent behavior; spikes in
body temperature (105 degrees and higher, Hall said); paranoia.
Stimulant
psychosis. Not excited delirium.
Probably what has brought flakka the most
attention is that it gives users what feels like the strength and fury of the
Incredible Hulk.
Strength and fury? Nice, but, no, you won't be meeting this guy after taking a dose of flakka (alpha-PVP).
Image from Fanpop.com
But it [flakka] does have one advantage over its
predecessor: it has not been banned – yet.
Yes, it
has. Alpha-PVP has been considered a Schedule I controlled substance since
March 7, 2014. It is banned in the USA.
It will probably take several years to get the
data necessary to put a federal ban on flakka, he added.
No. It is currently considered a federal Schedule I controlled substance and it isn't coming off that list in any way, shape, or form.
Journalists, there are people out there that could help you, if you'd ask. Please do ask.
Cheers,
FTG
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
National Forensic Laboratory Information System (2014 Midyear Report)
The sampling in the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS) report
is from state and local United States forensic laboratories. From January 1, 2014-June 30,
2014, 495,836 distinct drug cases were submitted to these labs and analyzed by
September 30, 2014. Of those 495,836 drug cases, 813,071 drug reports were
identified. Regions are defined as West, Midwest, Northest, and South. The overall report can be found here.
The West is Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska.
The Midwest is North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.
The Northeast is Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhhode Island, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
The South is Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Some food for thought here:
THC/marijuana, alprazolam, and oxycodone have been the top of their respective lists for the last few years at the least.
Mitragyine (Kratom) and Propoxyphene, a drug that has been formally removed from the US market since November 2010, have been detected in casework about the same amount.
PCP is still around and more prevalent than I think some folks think.
Methylone cases almost double the number of MDMA detections.
MDMA and Alpha-PVP detections are basically even in this report.
MDPV detections are approximately 7 and 7.5 times less than Alpha-PVP and MDMA cases.
XLR11 is the number one synthetic cannabinoid detected, but the number of cases decreased by about half since 2013.
The INACA synthetic cannabinoid derivatives were starting to become more prevalent beginning of 2014. Only one INACA derivative (AB-FUBINACA) was reported in 2013's midyear report. The 2015 report will be chocked full with INACAs.
It'll be interesting to see what is reported for the rest of 2014 when the full year report is released (if it is released) or what will be reported in 2015. Of course, in the NFLIS reporting system there are some limitations to using the numbers, so I'd advise you to click on the link above and read what those limitations are.
The West is Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska.
The Midwest is North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio.
The Northeast is Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Rhhode Island, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
The South is Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
The top overall reported
drugs were:
1. Cannabis/THC (241,057)
a. West (27,293)
b. Midwest (79,010)
c. Northeast (39,044)
d. South (95,710)
2. Methamphetamine (121,109)
a. West (53,509)
b. Midwest (20,579)
c. Northeast (1,939)
d. South (45,082)
3. Cocaine (119,014)
a. West (10,708)
b. Midwest (22,883)
c. Northeast (26,288)
d. South (59,135)
4. Heroin (84,962)
a. West (14,077)
b. Midwest (26,614)
c. Northeast (25,173)
d. South (19,099)
These four drugs accounted
for 70% of all reports in NFLIS.
The report classifises drugs substances into various categories. These are narcotic analgesics, tranquilizers and depressants, phenethylamines, and synthetic cannabinoids. The report does discuss anabolic steroids, but I'm not overly concerned with those substances, so we won't list them here.
Narcotic
Analgesics
Total reports for this classification were 64,934.
1. Oxycodone (23,132)
a. West (2,211)
b. Midwest (4,068)
c. Northeast (4,743)
d. South (12,111)
2. Hydrocodone (17,721)
a. West (2,455)
b. Midwest (3,939)
c. Northeast (1,023)
d. South (10,304)
3. Buprenorphine (7,709)
a. West (623)
b. Midwest (1,572)
c. Northeast (2,209)
d. South (3,306)
4. Morphine (4,192)
a. West (661)
b. Midwest (964)
c. Northeast (329)
d. South (2,237)
5. Methadone (3,077)
6. Hydromorphone (2,479)
7. Fentanyl (2,219)
8. Codeine (1,611)
9. Tramadol (1,426)
10. Oxymorphone (932)
11. Mitragynine (88)
12. Propoxyphene (78)
13. Meperidine (57)
14. Acetylfentanyl (55)
15. Hydrocodeinone (40)
The overall breakdown per region is:
South (34,277)
Midwest (13,156)
Northeast (10,311)
West (7,190)
Tranquilizers
and Depressants
Total reports for this classification were 41,129.
1. Alprazolam (21,804)
a. West (1,676)
b. Midwest (4,067)
c. Northeast (3,051)
d. South (13,009)
2. Clonazepam (6,097)
a. West (621)
b. Midwest (1,240)
c. Northeast (1,143)
d. South (3,094)
3. Diazepam (3,013)
a. West (405)
b. Midwest (698)
c. Northeast (261)
d. South (1,648)
4. PCP (2,697)
a. West (217)
b. Midwest (478)
c. Northeast (974)
d. South (1,027)
5. Carisoprodol (2,023)
6. Lorazepam (1,241)
7. Zolpidem (903)
8. Cyclobenzaprine (626)
9. Ketamine (574)
10. Phenobarbital (358)
11. Methaqualone (348)
12. Pregabalin (193)
13. Hydroxyzine (187)
14. Temazepam (172)
15. Butalbital (139)
The overall breakdown per region is:
South (22,353)
Midwest (7,855)
Northeast (6,704)
West (4,217)
Phenethylamines
Total reports for this classification were 141,980
cases.
1. Methamphetamine (121,109)
a. West (53,509)
b. Midwest (20,579)
c. Northeast (1,939)
d. South (45,082)
2. Amphetamine (6,101)
a. West (620)
b. Midwest (1,551)
c. Northeast (768)
d. South (3,163)
3. Methylone (4,417)
a. West (540)
b. Midwest (329)
c. Northeast (648)
d. South (2,901)
4. MDMA (2,347)
a. West (937)
b. Midwest (662)
c. Northeast (188)
d. South (560)
5. Alpha-PVP (2,244)
6. Ethylone (1,426)
7. Lisdexamphetamine (1,030)
8. 25I-NBOMe (396)
9. 25C-NBOMe (375)
10. MDA (331)
11. Phentermine (326)
12. MDPV (312)
13. 25B-NBOMe (239)
14. Dimethylone (219)
15. 4-MEC (138)
The overall breakdown per region is:
West (56,273)
South (56,216)
Midwest (24,753)
Northeast (4,738)
Synthetic
Cannabinoids
Total reports for this classification were 19,838
cases.
1. XLR11 (6,602)
a. West (600)
b. Midwest (1,230)
c. Northeast (1,884)
d. South (2,888)
2. AB-FUBINACA (4,326)
a. West (161)
b. Midwest (988)
c. Northeast (299)
d. South (2,878)
3. AB-PINACA (2,232)
a. West (197)
b. Midwest (796)
c. Northeast (127)
d. South (1,112)
4. PB-22 (1,342)
a. West (39)
b. Midwest (129)
c. Northeast (539)
d. South (635)
5. 5F-PB-22 (758)
6. UR-144 (512)
7. AB-CHMINACA (324)
8. AM-2201 (201)
9. 5F-AKB48 (199)
10. 5F-AB-PINACA (193)
11. ADB-FUBINACA (161)
12. FUB-PB-22 (124)
13. THJ-2201 (117)
14. AKB48 (106)
15. JWH-018 (93)
The overall breakdown per region is:
South (10,684)
Midwest (4,108)
Northeast (3,612)
West (1,435)
_____________________________________________________________________________
Some food for thought here:
THC/marijuana, alprazolam, and oxycodone have been the top of their respective lists for the last few years at the least.
Mitragyine (Kratom) and Propoxyphene, a drug that has been formally removed from the US market since November 2010, have been detected in casework about the same amount.
PCP is still around and more prevalent than I think some folks think.
Methylone cases almost double the number of MDMA detections.
MDMA and Alpha-PVP detections are basically even in this report.
MDPV detections are approximately 7 and 7.5 times less than Alpha-PVP and MDMA cases.
XLR11 is the number one synthetic cannabinoid detected, but the number of cases decreased by about half since 2013.
The INACA synthetic cannabinoid derivatives were starting to become more prevalent beginning of 2014. Only one INACA derivative (AB-FUBINACA) was reported in 2013's midyear report. The 2015 report will be chocked full with INACAs.
It'll be interesting to see what is reported for the rest of 2014 when the full year report is released (if it is released) or what will be reported in 2015. Of course, in the NFLIS reporting system there are some limitations to using the numbers, so I'd advise you to click on the link above and read what those limitations are.