Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
January 3, 2014
Patrick Dawson, Jolanta Opacka-Juffry, James D Moffatt et al.
5-APB, commonly marketed as 'benzofury' is a new psychoactive substance and erstwhile 'legal high' which has been implicated in 10 recent drug-related deaths in the UK. This drug was available on the internet and in 'head shops' and was one of the most commonly sold legal highs up until its recent UK temporary ban (UK Home Office). Despite its prominence, very little is known about its...
Natural Product Reports
2014
Giovanni Appendino, Alberto Minassi, Orazio Taglialatela‐scafati
65 citations
Covering: up to December 2013. Over the past decade, there has been a growing transition in recreational drugs from natural materials (marijuana, hashish, opium), natural products (morphine, cocaine), or their simple derivatives (heroin), to synthetic agents more potent than their natural prototypes, which are sometimes less harmful in the short term, or that combine properties from different...
Drug Testing and Analysis
2014
Lucy Burns, Amanda Roxburgh, Allison J Matthews et al.
78 citations
New Psychoactive Substances are now a feature of Australia's recreational drug market. Little is known, however, about the prevalence of use, the characteristics of people who use them and the relationship between the NPS and ecstasy markets. This study examined the prevalence and correlates of NPS use amongst a group of regular ecstasy users in Australia. Participants were recruited if they...
Drug Testing and Analysis
September 20, 2013
Tomás Herraiz, Simon D. Brandt
25 citations
5-(2-Aminopropyl)indole (5-IT) is a psychoactive compound that has recently been associated with several fatal and non-fatal intoxications in a number of European countries. There are indications that acute effects may include symptoms of monoaminergic (e.g. serotonin) toxicity and one mechanism involved in the increase of serotonin levels includes the inhibition of monoamine oxidase. This...
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
September 1, 2013
Robin Lester Carhart-Harris, David John Nutt
55 citations
A web-based survey was used to consult the opinions of experienced drug users on matters related to drug harms. We identified a rare sample of 93 drug users with personal experience with 11 different illicit drugs that are widely used in the UK. Asked to assess the relative harms of these drugs, they ranked alcohol and tobacco as the most harmful, and three "Class A" drugs (MDMA, LSD, and...
Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation
May 22, 2013
Anders Helander, Olof Beck, Robert Hägerkvist et al.
82 citations
AIM: The study aimed to collect information concerning the increasing use of new psychoactive substances, commonly sold through online shops as 'Internet drugs' or 'legal highs', or in terms of masked products such as 'bath salts' and 'plant food'. METHODS: The Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Laboratory and the Swedish Poisons Information Centre have initiated a project called...
PLoS One
December 18, 2012
Stanley C. Flavel, Jenna D. Koch, Jason M. White et al.
30 citations
Use of illicit stimulants such as methamphetamine, cocaine, and ecstasy is a significant health problem. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that 14-57 million people use stimulants each year. Chronic use of illicit stimulants can cause neurotoxicity in animals and humans but the long-term functional consequences are not well understood. Stimulant users self-report problems...
British Journal of Pharmacology
October 8, 2012
Sinead E Shortall, Andrew R. Green, Km Swift et al.
51 citations
Background and Purpose Recreational users report that mephedrone has similar psychoactive effects to 3,4‐methylenedioxymethamphetamine ( MDMA ). MDMA induces well‐characterized changes in body temperature due to complex monoaminergic effects on central thermoregulation, peripheral blood flow and thermogenesis, but there are little preclinical data on the acute effects of mephedrone or other...
British Journal of Pharmacology
September 4, 2012
Kim P. C. Kuypers, Rafael de la Torre, Magı́ Farré et al.
23 citations
BACKGROUND: Ecstasy use is commonly linked with memory deficits in abstinent ecstasy users. Similar impairments are being found during ecstasy intoxication after single doses of ± 3,4 metylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). The concordance of memory impairments during intoxication and abstinence suggests a similar neuropharmacological mechanism underlying acute and chronic memory impairments. The...
Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology
August 25, 2012
Fabrizio Schifano, John Corkery, A. Hamid Ghodse
113 citations
BACKGROUND: International media have been reporting about fatalities allegedly related to mephedrone, a popular recreational stimulant, but now a proportion of them have been confirmed. We aimed here at analyzing information relating to the circumstances of mephedrone-related deaths in the United Kingdom. METHODS: Descriptive analysis of information was mainly extracted from the UK National...