In Japan, 32 psychotropic substances were controlled under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law starting April 2007 to curb drug abuse, but new designer drugs continue to emerge. Just before a law amendment, 7 designer drugs were detected in 15 products using NMR, GC-MS, and LC-MS analyses. These included three methylone derivatives (MDPV, bk-MBDB, bk-MDEA), a MDMA derivative (N-OH MDMA), a methamphetamine derivative (N-Me-4-FMP), a tryptamine derivative (5-MeO-EIPT), and indan-2-amine. 5-MeO-EIPT was newly identified in this study.
By July 2009, Japan had designated 40 psychoactive substances (including 12 tryptamines, 17 phenethylamines, 3 piperazines, 6 alkyl nitrites, 1 diterpene, and 1 plant) as controlled substances under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law to prevent abuse. Despite these controls, new designer drugs continue to appear in the illegal market. Analysis of two products purchased in Japan between October 2008 and February 2009 identified four compounds: three phenethylamine derivatives—N-Me-2-FMP, ALEPH-4, and DON—and one tryptamine derivative, 5-MeO-EPT. N-Me-2-FMP and 5-MeO-EPT were newly identified, while ALEPH-4 and DON were found as novel illegal drugs in Japan.
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare amended the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law in 2006 to control 31 non-controlled psychotropic substances and one plant as "Designated Substances" as of April 2007, with five more compounds added in January 2008. These substances had been sold as video cleaners, incense, and reagents via the Internet or in video shops. The authors developed simultaneous analytical methods using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and present retention times, UV spectra, and mass spectrometry data for these substances.