Designer DrugsWhat Are Designer Drugs?According to Webster's Dictionary designer drugs are drugs produced by a minor modification in the chemical structure of an existing drug, resulting in a new substance with similar pharmacological effects. Suppose amphetamine were the only drug in the world, and it was illegal. Take a look at its chemical structure in picture 1. Amphetamine If a chemist were to make changes to the chemical structure of amphetamine, they could easily come up with: Ephedrine, Pseudoephedrine, Phenylalanine. Ephedrine Pseudoephedrine  Phenylalanine  These new drugs, based on amphetamine, would be called designer drugs (technically called analogues by scientists), and because amphetamine was the only illegal drug in the world (for this example), these new drugs would be legal. Change the chemical structure of a known drug (parent), and some of these new drugs (analogues or children) will have the same or similar actions as the original parent drug. That is basically what designer drugs are, new drugs based on another drug. No need to start from scratch, just take an existing drug and by 'design', make changes to its chemical structure, so the resulting drug is not illegal. That was in the past, at that time drugs were defined by their chemical content, now they are classified by the effects they have. Addiction Research FoundationCopyright © ARF Library There is debate over the initial meaning of the phrase 'designer drugs'. Some claim it originally referred to drugs which were made for specific selected effects. However, according to David Jerrard, the term was first coined by a California pharmacologist to describe the private synthesis of drugs (analogues) slightly different from parent compounds, that, by design, rendered them temporarily immune from the control of the Drug Enforcement Agency. It used to be that any drug remained legal to make or to use until it was classified as a controlled substance by the state or federal government. Even though the loophole which allowed these drugs to be sold without fear of prosecution has been closed, they still continue to be manufactured and used, either because of the specific nature of their effects or because of economic factors. The most widely used of these designer drugs are the fentanyl analogues and MDMA (Ecstasy). The fentanyl analogues were first developed and marketed as a substitute for heroin in the late seventies. Besides working just like heroin in their ability to block pain and to cause euphoria, they are cheap to produce with less than $500 worth of chemicals and equipment being enough to produce $2 million dollars worth of the drug. Both of the two most frequently used analogues (which were given the street names China White and New Heroin) have been known to have serious toxicological side effects. Whether it is because of its strength or because of unknown pharmacological properties, users of China White have suffered an inordinate number of fatal overdoses, while those who take New Heroin face the danger of developing symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease. Although MDMA (Ecstasy) is an analogue of the stimulant methamphetamine, it also has some of the effects of a 'psychedelic drug'. MDMA was first synthesized in the early part of the 20th century. It was not until the late seventies that it started to be used for its psychopharmacological properties when some psychiatrists and psychologists began experimenting with it as a therapeutic tool. Therapists have shown that when using MDMA in a therapeutic setting, communication is enhanced and anxiety and defenses are eliminated. Initially the therapeutic community tried to keep the knowledge of this drug under wraps. However, knowledge slowly seeped out onto the college campuses, gay bars and discos. The effect of this was twofold. First of all, when taken outside a therapeutic setting, sometimes the effects of the drug were less than benign. Secondly, once the drug was out on the street it attracted the attention of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, (FDA) which immediately announced that it meant to make it a classified drug. Despite protests by some members of the psychoanalytic community, it was classified controlled as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, U.S. in 1985, although this did nothing to stem its rising tide of popularity on the street. It ended the use of important tool in treating PTSD and other psychiatric disorders. Outside a therapeutic setting, MDMA is frequently used as much for its amphetamine like properties as it is for its 'mind expanding' effects. It is frequently used at raves to facilitate all night dancing. According to the ISDD, Institute for the Study of Drug Dependence, Ecstasy should be especially avoided by people who have any sort of heart trouble, high blood pressure, liver trouble, asthma or diabetes. Other designer drugs whose use has as yet been less prevalent are Methcathinone (Cat), 4-Methylaminorex and Aminorex which exhibit amphetamine like properties, and Gammahydroxybutyrate (GHB), an anaesthetic with primarily sedative rather than pain killing properties. Most of the resources presented dealing with the history and usage of 'designer drugs' are non Canadian. However in Canada, as is the case in the United States, many of these drugs are controlled substances. For example, MDMA is listed on Schedule H of the Food and Drugs Act, Canada. Schedule H lists restricted drugs deemed to have no medical use. National Institute on Drug AbuseFrom The National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA. It should be noted that The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is an anti drug site, so they are trying to put as much negative light on drugs as possible. In some cases this negative light comes at the cost of the truth. I had to remove some material from the NIDA description below, because, according to my research, it was not accurate. Such as "MDMA is closely related to the amphetamine family because it can result in a variety of acute psychiatric disturbances." "MDMA was first synthesized in the early 1950s as an appetite suppressant, although it was never used as such." A designer drug is an analog, a chemical compound that is similar in structure and effect to another drug of abuse but differs slightly in structure. Designer drugs are produced in clandestine laboratories to mimic the psychoactive effects of controlled drugs. Theoretically, the number of potential synthetic analogs that can be made and distributed is very large. The most commonly known types of synthetic analog drugs available through the illicit drug market include analogs of fentanyl and meperidine (both synthetic opioids), phencyclidine (PCP), and amphetamine and methamphetamine (which have hallucinogenic and stimulant properties). The street names of designer drugs vary according to time, place, and manufacturer, and they change frequently. Fentanyl Analogs Fentanyl was introduced in 1968 by a Belgium pharmaceutical company as a synthetic narcotic to be used as an analgesic in surgical procedures because of its minimal effect on the heart. In the early 1980s, however, crude clandestine laboratories began manufacturing fentanyl derivatives that were pharmacologically similar to heroin and morphine. These fentanyl analogs create addiction similar to that of the opiate narcotics and present a significant drug abuse problem, including an increased potential for overdose. The most commonly known fentanyl analog is alpha-methylfentanyl, which is known on the streets as China White. Other fentanyl analogs on the street include synthetic heroin, Tango and Cash, and Goodfella. Health Hazards As with other narcotic analgesics, respiratory depression is the most significant acute toxic effect of the fentanyl derivatives. Fentanyl analogs are 80 to 1,000 times more potent than heroin, depending on how they are made, and are 200 times more potent than morphine. They are intended to duplicate the euphoric effects of heroin. Fentanyl analogs have a very rapid onset (1 to 4 minutes) and a short duration of action (approximately 30 to 90 minutes), which varies according to the particular drug. The most common route of administration is by injection. The antidote naloxone may be used in an overdose situation to counter respiratory depression when the victim is found in time. Recent data indicate that smoking and sniffing are two means of ingestion that are becoming more popular, perhaps because of the attempt on the part of users to avoid the transmission of HIV/AIDS. Supply Fentanyl analogs are marketed as potent heroin alternatives to the heroin-using population. China White (alpha-methylfentanyl), which appeared in Orange County, California, in 1979, was the first synthetically produced fentanyl that resulted in overdose deaths. Between 1980 and 1985, China White and several other fentanyl analogs were responsible for 100 unintentional overdose deaths in California. In 1982, China White was placed on Schedule I of the Controlled Substance Act (CSA), along with other drugs that have the highest potential for abuse and have no recognized legitimate medical use except for experimental purposes. In 1985, TMF (3-methyl-fentanyl) another lethal analog, along with two other similar derivatives, also was classified as a Schedule I drug under the CSA. In 1988, TMF was identified in 16 unintentional overdose deaths in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Multiple drug use was common in most of these cases. Since TMF is a powerful opiate, it is possible that it compounded the suppressant respiratory effects of the other drugs ingested, thereby causing death. In 1991, the fentanyl analog Tango and Cash was implicated in at least 28 deaths, primarily in New York and other northeast areas. In 1992, China White was found to be the cause of death in 21 overdoses during 2 months in Philadelphia. To date, fentanyl analogs are responsible for the drug overdose deaths of more than 150 people in the United States. Meperidine Analogs Meperidine, known by the trade name of Demerol, is a narcotic controlled under Schedule II of the CSA (meaning that it has a high potential for abuse as well as recognized medical use). Over the past decade, the illicit use of meperidine has increased during periods when heroin was scarce. Two meperidine analogs that have appeared on the streets include MPPP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-4-propionoxypiperidine) and PEPAP (1-[2-phenylethyl]-4-acetyloxypiperdine). They often are marketed as new heroin. MPPP is popular among drug users because when it is injected, it produces a euphoria similar to that produced by heroin. An impurity formed during the clandestine manufacture of MPPP, called MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6,-tetrahydro-pyridine), has been shown to be a potent neurotoxin and has caused irreversible brain damage in several individuals. The damage is manifested in a syndrome resembling a very severe parkinsonism, which results in increased muscle tone, difficulty in moving and speaking, drooling, and cogwheel rigidity of the upper extremities. Tremor in such patients characteristically involves the proximal muscles and is more pronounced than the typical involuntary rest tremor occurring in idiopathic parkinsonism. MPTP was identified primarily in California, in the early 1980s. Methamphetamine Analogs Several dozen analogs of amphetamine and methamphetamine are hallucinogenic; many have been scheduled under the CSA. The methamphetamine analogs currently of concern include MDA (3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine) and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine). MDA, known by the street name love drug, was first used recreationally in the 1960s. MDA produces a heightened need for interpersonal relationships, and users report an increased need to talk to and be with other people. MDA became more widely used recreationally in the early 1980s on college campuses and by psychiatrists, until lies and propaganda like, MDA damages the brain's serotonin neurons, thereby producing brain damage, started circulating. It consequently became classified as a CSA Schedule I drug. MDMA, often known on the streets as ecstasy or Adam, is structurally similar to methamphetamine and mescaline and stimulates the central nervous system. MDMA was placed on Schedule I of the CSA on an emergency basis in July 1985. According to NIDA's 1995 Monitoring the Future Study, 4.5 percent of young adults ages 19 through 28 and 3.1 percent of college students have tried MDMA at least once in their lifetimes. Various reports have been made by a number of psychiatrists for the usefulness of MDMA in enhancing psychotherapy. In fact ecstasy has been used by psychiatrists in the U.S. to treat such psychological disorders as: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, pain and emotional distress of terminal cancer patients, treatment of depression, anxiety, rape-related trauma, and even schizophrenia. PCP Analogs PCP is registered under Schedule III of the CSA. Various PCP analogs have been identified in confiscated street samples, but the use of these drugs is not widespread. Books Drug Identification: |