Research chemicals: Difference between revisions

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==History and culture==

The term "designer drug" ~~was originally coined~~ in the ~~1980s~~ to ~~refer~~ to ~~various [[~~heroin~~|heroin-like]]~~ synthetic ~~substances~~, ~~mostly based on the [[fentanyl]] molecule (e~~.g. ~~a-methylfentanyl~~). ~~The term gained widespread popularity when [[MDMA]]~~ (~~ecstasy~~) ~~experienced a popularity boom in the mid~~-~~1980s~~. In the United States, the Controlled Substances Act was amended by the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement of 1986, which attempted to ban designer drugs preemptively by making it illegal to manufacture, sell, or possess chemicals that were substantially similar in chemistry and pharmacology to Schedule I or Schedule II drugs.<ref>Freye, E. (2009). History of designer drugs. In Pharmacology and Abuse of Cocaine, Amphetamines, Ecstasy and Related Designer Drugs (pp. 183-189). Springer, Dordrecht.</ref>

The term designer drug was created in 1984<ref name="Baum">R. M. Baum. New variety of street drugs poses growing problem. Chem. Eng. News 1985, 63, 7.</ref> following the appearance on the illicit drug market in the USA of a number of fentanyl derivatives. They were defined as ‘analogues, or chemical cousins, of controlled substances that are designed to produce effects similar to the controlled substances they mimic’. These highly potent substitutes for heroin caused a number of accidental deaths. A synthetic contaminant (MPTP) in an α‐prodine derivative<ref name="Baum" /> led to chemically induced Parkinson's disease in a number of injecting drug users.<ref name="King">King, L. A., & Kicman, A. T. (2011). A brief history of ‘new psychoactive substances’. Drug Testing and Analysis, 3(7‐8), 401-403. https://doi.org/10.1002/dta.319

</ref> In the United States, the Controlled Substances Act was amended by the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement of 1986, which attempted to ban designer drugs preemptively by making it illegal to manufacture, sell, or possess chemicals that were substantially similar in chemistry and pharmacology to Schedule I or Schedule II drugs.<ref>Freye, E. (2009). History of designer drugs. In Pharmacology and Abuse of Cocaine, Amphetamines, Ecstasy and Related Designer Drugs (pp. 183-189). Springer, Dordrecht.</ref>

Amphetamine derivatives, particularly ring‐substituted examples, represented the next phase in the evolution of designer drugs. The ‘phenethylamine period’, likely inspired by the publication of the book PiHKAL in 1991, would last into the early years of the twenty‐first century. In this time, around 50 illicit phenethylamine derivatives were found in police and customs seizures in Europe and the USA. In parallel with the phenethylamines, many tryptamine derivatives appeared throughout the 1990s. Their synthesis may have been inspired by the publication of the book [[TiHKAL]] in 1997, though they never became widespread.<ref name="King" />

New substances rapidly followed the end of the PiHKAL era, the next family being the piperazine derivatives. The prototypical member was BZP. The piperazines occupied a transition state in the marketing of ‘new psychoactive substances’. The source shifted from clandestine laboratories to legitimate chemical supply companies, some of which were located in Asian countries. Since the substances concerned were not initially controlled under drugs legislation, their production and distribution became far more overt. Alongside more traditional retail outlets like head shops, the growth of the internet opened up new channels, where their properties and effects could be openly discussed. It was at this time that the euphemism "research chemical" appeared.<ref name="King" />

The piperazines were soon followed in around 2008 by cathinone derivatives, the most common of which in Europe was [[mephedrone]]. At the same time, the first synthetic cannabinoid agonists were identified in smoking mixtures, which are often known as ‘Spice’.<ref name="King" />

In the last few years, there has been a rapid proliferation of new substances. Of the approximately 170 substances reported since 1997 by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), over half have appeared since 2006.<ref name="King" />

==Toxicity and harm potential==

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 ==History and culture==
-The term "designer drug" was originally coined in the 1980s to refer to various [[heroin|heroin-like]] synthetic substances, mostly based on the [[fentanyl]] molecule (e.g. a-methylfentanyl). The  term  gained widespread  popularity  when  [[MDMA]]  (ecstasy)  experienced a popularity boom in the mid-1980s. In the United States, the Controlled Substances Act  was  amended  by  the  Controlled  Substance  Analogue  Enforcement  of  1986, which  attempted  to  ban  designer  drugs  preemptively  by  making  it  illegal  to manufacture, sell, or possess chemicals that were substantially similar in chemistry and pharmacology to Schedule I or Schedule II drugs.<ref>Freye, E. (2009). History of designer drugs. In Pharmacology and Abuse of Cocaine, Amphetamines, Ecstasy and Related Designer Drugs (pp. 183-189). Springer, Dordrecht.</ref>
+The term designer drug was created in 1984<ref name="Baum">R. M. Baum. New variety of street drugs poses growing problem. Chem. Eng. News 1985, 63, 7.</ref> following the appearance on the illicit drug market in the USA of a number of fentanyl derivatives. They were defined as ‘analogues, or chemical cousins, of controlled substances that are designed to produce effects similar to the controlled substances they mimic’. These highly potent substitutes for heroin caused a number of accidental deaths. A synthetic contaminant (MPTP) in an α‐prodine derivative<ref name="Baum" /> led to chemically induced Parkinson's disease in a number of injecting drug users.<ref name="King">King, L. A., & Kicman, A. T. (2011). A brief history of ‘new psychoactive substances’. Drug Testing and Analysis, 3(7‐8), 401-403. https://doi.org/10.1002/dta.319
+</ref>  In the United States, the Controlled Substances Act  was  amended  by  the  Controlled  Substance  Analogue  Enforcement  of  1986, which  attempted  to  ban  designer  drugs  preemptively  by  making  it  illegal  to manufacture, sell, or possess chemicals that were substantially similar in chemistry and pharmacology to Schedule I or Schedule II drugs.<ref>Freye, E. (2009). History of designer drugs. In Pharmacology and Abuse of Cocaine, Amphetamines, Ecstasy and Related Designer Drugs (pp. 183-189). Springer, Dordrecht.</ref>
+Amphetamine derivatives, particularly ring‐substituted examples, represented the next phase in the evolution of designer drugs. The ‘phenethylamine period’, likely inspired by the publication of the book PiHKAL in 1991, would last into the early years of the twenty‐first century. In this time, around 50 illicit phenethylamine derivatives were found in police and customs seizures in Europe and the USA. In parallel with the phenethylamines, many tryptamine derivatives appeared throughout the 1990s. Their synthesis may have been inspired by the publication of the book [[TiHKAL]] in 1997, though they never became widespread.<ref name="King" />
+New substances rapidly followed the end of the PiHKAL era, the next family being the piperazine derivatives. The prototypical member was BZP. The piperazines occupied a transition state in the marketing of ‘new psychoactive substances’. The source shifted from clandestine laboratories to legitimate chemical supply companies, some of which were located in Asian countries. Since the substances concerned were not initially controlled under drugs legislation, their production and distribution became far more overt. Alongside more traditional retail outlets like head shops, the growth of the internet opened up new channels, where their properties and effects could be openly discussed. It was at this time that the euphemism "research chemical" appeared.<ref name="King" />
+The piperazines were soon followed in around 2008 by cathinone derivatives, the most common of which in Europe was [[mephedrone]]. At the same time, the first synthetic cannabinoid agonists were identified in smoking mixtures, which are often known as ‘Spice’.<ref name="King" />
+In the last few years, there has been a rapid proliferation of new substances. Of the approximately 170 substances reported since 1997 by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), over half have appeared since 2006.<ref name="King" />
 ==Toxicity and harm potential==