"Designer drugs"--a current perspective.
The Journal of emergency medicine 1990 DOI: 10.1016/0736-4679(90)90288-7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key findings | The authors argue that clandestine chemists modified existing controlled substances into new derivatives that, until 1986, temporarily escaped the Federal Controlled Substances Act because of their novel chemical structures, and that unsuspecting users continue to take these drugs recreationally. The article reviews the history, pharmacokinetics, treatment, and abuse trends of these "Designer Drugs." |
Abstract
Since the late 1970s, in an effort to quench the ever burgeoning appetite for pharmacological substances of abuse and to satiate their own need for profit, unscrupulous chemists have set up clandestine laboratories to produce and market new drugs for street sale. Using fairly common industrial chemicals, they have altered or modified preexisting controlled substances such as fentanyl, meperidine, mescaline, amphetamine, and phencyclidine, producing derivatives of these parent compounds that, up until 1986, were able to temporarily elude the guidelines of the Federal Controlled Substances Act due to their new and unique chemical structures. Unsuspecting users continue to use the drugs recreationally. This article will present a comprehensive review of these "Designer Drugs" looking at historical data, pharmacokinetics, treatment, abuse trends, and some of the more recent additions to the social pharmacopoeia.