Tag: Synthetic Drugs

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Synthetic Drugs On the Rise

April 13, 2016

Synthetic DrugsAdolphe Joseph, 34, is serving a 10-year prison sentence for smuggling fentanyl, an opiate 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine. But he has not been charged for the nearly three pounds of a synthetic opiate more than 10,000 times as powerful as morphine investigators found in his South Florida home last Fall. Nor will he be, say prosecutors.

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opiate analgesic similar to but more potent than morphine. It is typically used to treat patients with severe pain, or to manage pain after surgery. It is also sometimes used to treat people with chronic pain who are physically tolerant to opiates. It is a schedule II prescription drug.

Like heroin, morphine, and other opioid drugs, fentanyl works by binding to the body’s opiate receptors, highly concentrated in areas of the brain that control pain and emotions. When opiate drugs bind to these receptors, they can drive up dopamine levels in the brain’s reward areas, producing a state of euphoria and relaxation.

W-18 is one of thousands of synthetic opiates that is not scheduled as a controlled substance and thus not subject to criminal drug penalties, and one of a handful of drugs that law enforcement officials and scientists say they have seen in increasing numbers in the last six months, as use, abuse and overdose deaths continues to rise.

U-47700, which is seven to eight times stronger than morphine, has been the source of overdoses over the past year in at least 10 states since the first US incident was discovered in Knoxville, Tennessee, in June 2015.

Barry Logan, the executive director for the Center of Forensic Science and Education, said his lab has been able to track down 17 overdose cases of U-47700. And several other overdose deaths and hospitalizations have been identified by local law enforcement in Florida and northern Texas.

Overdoses on synthetic opioids “may be reported as a heroin overdose death unless the medical examiners dig down deep”, said Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Russ Bare. He said forensics scientists often will not take steps to search for existence of a specific compound unless an individual overdoses near drug paraphernalia, or there is other environmental evidence.

Jim Hall, a prominent South Florida epidemiologist, said the chatter he’s been hearing from experts and law enforcement about U-47700 in the last few weeks reminds him of the beginning of the Flakka epidemic. Flakka caused panic in the Broward County area over the last few years due to high fatal overdose rates and its effects of causing violent hallucinations paired with superhuman strength.

When Broward prosecutor Anita White was charging Joseph, she found that W-18 was too chemically different from any other controlled substance to make a case at all. Since opiates already resemble the brain’s own natural substances in chemical structure, the brain easily assimilates opiate effects within its chemical system. As tolerance levels increase, a dependency cycle takes root leaving the brain unable to regulate chemical processes normally without the drug’s effects.

With drug and alcohol testing centers throughout the entire United States, Accredited Drug Testing is there to answer all of your drug and alcohol testing questions and needs. For more information contact:

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Andrew@accredtiteddrugtesting.com
http://accrediteddrugtesting.net/
(800) 221-4291
Accredited Drug Testing Inc
Health Screening USA Inc

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Two synthetic drugs pose threat to public health. What are they?

Sep 19 2016

Two synthetic drugs pose threat to public health. What are they?

Cannabinoids and Cathinones are the latest synthetic drugs to bring on warnings issued by the Federal Government. 

Cannabinoids

Cannabinoids is often referred to as synthetic marijuana, K2 or Spice and can be found in legal retail outlets sold under “herbal incense” or “potpourri”.

  • Synthetic cannabinoids, contain approximately 120 known chemical variants with 50 or so of these chemical either regulated by U.S. law, or that are illegal in the United States.
  • China produces the bulk of synthetic marijuana where the “recipe” is altered to circumvent U.S. Law.
  • Cannabinoids are typically sold in packets which carry one of more than 500 brand names commonly referred to as Spice, Ace of Spades, Demon, King John Pot Pourri, Mojo and Mr. Bad Guy.
  • These products are labeled “not for human consumption” therefore, they are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Cannabinoids and other synthetic drugs can also be purchased via internet
  • click here. To view a detailed list of over 500 Cannabinoids.

What are the risks of cannabinoids?

Some side effects of synthetic cannabinoids consist of severe agitation, anxiety, nausea, vomiting, heart palpitations, elevated blood pressure, tremors, seizures, hallucinations and dilated pupils. In some cases, suicidal and other harmful thoughts and/or actions have also been reported.

Cathinones

Cathinones, a naturally occurring stimulant found in the leaves of khat (the leaves of an Arabian shrub, which are chewed (or drunk as an infusion) as a stimulant. Khat is used in combination with other chemicals to make a drug similar to amphetamines.

  • Synthetic cathinone products often consist of methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), mephedrone, and methylone.
  • Similar to cannabinoids, most cathinones are produced in China. They are referred to as “bath salts,” and distributed under trade names such as ‘Ivory Wave’, ‘White Lightning’ and ‘Vanilla Sky.’ They are also labeled as “not for human consumption” to avoid penalty under the Analogue Enforcement Act.
  • Generally, Bath Salts are snorted, but some smoke it, inject it or ingest it as a pill.

What’s the risk of cathinones?

• The risk in the synthetic cathinones come from a complete lack of knowledge as to what and how much of any substance is in the drug.  It is very easy for someone to overdose on a cathinone.

Similar to the adverse effects of cocaine, LSD, and methamphetamine, synthetic cathinone use is most commonly associated with an increased heart rate, blood pressure, chest pain, extreme paranoia, hallucinations, delusions, and violent behavior.

What is the government doing?

• The Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act, which is part of the FDA Safety and Innovation Act of 2012, placed 26 types of synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)  – meaning they are illegal to possess or distribute. The problem with legislating against synthetic drugs is that they are altered so quickly.


For information regarding the effects of drug abuse – Click Here
For  information on a drug free work place – Click Here
For  information on substance abuse programs – Click Here
For information on DOT Drug / Alcohol Testing requirements – Click Here
 

John Burgos, CPC
Business Development Manager
https://accrediteddrugtesting.net
(800) 221-4291
Accredited Drug Testing Inc
Health Screening USA Inc

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What will the drug testing look like?

“We are delighted to be able to work in partnership with Boomtown this year to help reduce drug-related harm on site”, said Measham, the President of The Loop, in a statement. “We will be providing our free, anonymous, drug safety testing – MAST – for the first time at Boomtown this year and hope that this will help inform all services on site, as well as festival-goers, who may encounter substances of concern”.

Why Now?

Many times music festivals can be the breeding ground of unsafe, tampered drugs and the people that sell them. Over the years several drug overdoses and deaths have happened at music festivals because of synthetic drug use. So The Loop is aiming to solve this growing problem by making sure BoomTown is a fun and safe environment for attendants. The issue is not so much convincing festival organizers that it is a good idea, but getting police to prize safety over criminalizing people. This allows them to come forward with their drugs without fear of being arrested on their way out of the testing tent.

BoomTown will increase security to stop dangerous drugs from entering the festival grounds to begin. And with drug abuse rates the highest they have been in 10 years, there is no room for lack of safety control when possible. BoomTown will also have a section of its website dedicated to raising awareness of current dangerous drug trends at festivals and further educational information.

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Danny Duffy has been in the MLB for 6 years with the Kansas City Royals, but this is the first year he has been called for 12 random drug tests… and it’s only July. The MLB has not made a comment about it yet but firmly stands behind its’ random drug testing policy.

Why does he think this?

He can’t help but think something is up and took to twitter to talk about the subject:

Danny Duffy Tweet

It’s happened before…

Duffy isn’t the first player questioning why they’ve been submitted to so many drug tests this year.Brewers slugger Eric Thames, who returned to the majors from Korea and has hit a plethora of dingers, wasn’t so sure the drug tests were as random as the league claims.

“I went the long way around to come back here. This whole thing is surprising me, as well. I really have no goals for this year. I wasn’t trying to break any records or set anything. I just wanted to apply what I learned in Korea to see how it would fare here. I’m shocked at all the results. I’m just here to play ball, and do my best to stay healthy, and stretch as much as I can. So, yeah, if people keep thinking I’m on stuff, I’ll be here every day. I have lots of blood and urine.” Thames said in an interview addressing the drug testing.

How can ADT Help?

While the MLB can claim the tests are random, there is a difference between random drug testing, and drug testing under a “Reasonable Suspicion” claim. Accredited Drug Testing Offers “Reasonable Suspicion Training” for any supervisors or HR Managers that want to be able to test under reasonable suspicion, or send an employee to get a drug test when a supervisor believes they may be using or under the influence of drugs. Only companies that have at least one employee that have gone through Reasonable Suspicion Training are legally allowed to test for reasonable suspicion.