Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports
August 10, 2023
Rebecca D. Hill, Ritu A. Shetty, Nathalie Sumien et al.
4 citations
Three synthetic benzofurans—5-APDB, 5-MAPB, and 6-APB—were tested in mice and rats to compare their behavioral effects with MDMA, cocaine, and methamphetamine. In mice, 6-APB produced strong locomotor stimulation 20 to 50 minutes after injection, while 5-MAPB caused modest stimulation, and 5-APDB initially depressed then modestly stimulated activity. All three compounds were more potent than MDMA. In rats trained to discriminate MDMA from saline, all three benzofurans fully substituted for MDMA, indicating similar subjective effects. Only 5-MAPB fully substituted for cocaine, and none fully substituted for methamphetamine. The findings suggest these benzofurans may have abuse liability as substitutes for MDMA.
Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports
March 1, 2026
Jing-Jer Chen, Carla J. Berg, Y Tony Yang
1 citation
From 2021 to 2023, overall hallucinogen use among Americans aged 12 and older remained stable at about 2.8%, but trends for individual substances diverged. LSD use declined from 0.88% to 0.58%, while ketamine use increased from 1.61% to 1.91%. Use of ecstasy/MDMA and tryptamines (including DMT) stayed steady, and PCP and Salvia divinorum remained rare. Hallucinogen use was concentrated among young adults and males, with higher odds among uninsured individuals and those below the federal poverty level. Substance-specific monitoring may better inform screening, prevention, and harm-reduction efforts than aggregate hallucinogen indicators.
Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports
June 1, 2026
Christopher Medina-Kirchner, Scott E Lukas
After weekend ecstasy use, mood on Monday is lower than after non-use weekends. This effect is explained largely by more time spent in bed, which independently predicts lower mood. No differences were found in weekly depression or anxiety scores. The findings suggest that recovery-related behavior, not MDMA alone, may underlie post-use mood declines, though directionality cannot be determined.
Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports
March 22, 2026
Shane Darke, Johan Duflou, Michael Farrell et al.
From 2000 to 2025, 70 fatal poisonings involving new psychoactive stimulants and hallucinogens (NPSH) were identified in Australia, the first occurring in 2007. In nearly a quarter of cases, the person appeared unaware they were consuming an NPSH, and about a third involved injection. Common signs of acute poisoning included intense agitation, sudden collapse, and hyperthermia. Cathinones were the most frequently detected NPSH, followed by phenethylamines and tryptamines. Over a quarter of cases had multiple NPSH in the blood. In the 2020s, tryptamines became more common while phenethylamines became less common, and a wider range of NPSH were detected. Psychoactive drugs besides NPSH were present in most cases, especially psychostimulants and hypnosedatives.