A new HPTLC method was developed and validated to identify and quantify the synthetic hallucinogen 25-C-NBOMe in seized blotters, with confirmation by GC–MS. Analysis of 15 real samples found 25-C-NBOMe in all cases, with dosages ranging from 701.0 to 1943.5 µg per blotter. The findings suggest that NBOMes are replacing LSD as the main hallucinogenic drug consumed in blotters in Chile, addressing a serious forensic, regulatory, and public health issue.
Blotters—small paper squares—have long been used to deliver the hallucinogen LSD, but recently seized blotters in Chile and elsewhere increasingly contain NBOMe derivatives, a group of newly synthesized phenylethylamine analogues. These compounds, primarily 25I-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe, and 25B-NBOMe, show high affinity for the 5HT2A receptor, which international reports suggest may exceed that of LSD. Numerous deaths and hospitalizations linked to these synthetic compounds have been reported in the United States and Europe, highlighting a serious public health concern.