naphyrone and Substance-Related-Disorders

A growing number of novel substances have been abused as recreational drugs by young people in the United States (US), Europe, and Australia. Called "legal highs," these substances range from plant-based to completely synthetic compounds. Spice, Salvia, mephedrone, methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), and other cathinone derivatives have psychotropic effects and are marketed for recreational use through exploitation of inadequacies in existing controlled substance laws.. This article reviews available literature on the most common "legal highs" as well as discussing the scientific basis for the legal difficulties in controlling trafficking in these novel substances.. "Legal highs" continue to increase in use in the US, Europe, and Australia. These substances are powerful, can mimic effects of more traditional drugs of abuse, and are intentionally manufactured to circumvent existing controlled substance laws. As controlled substance legislation may be inadequate in the face of the quickly evolving legal highs, physicians are likely to see an increase in the prevalence of legal highs.

Topics: Benzodioxoles; Cannabinoids; Designer Drugs; Emergency Medicine; Humans; Illicit Drugs; Methamphetamine; Pentanones; Psychotropic Drugs; Pyrrolidines; Salvia; Substance-Related Disorders; Synthetic Cathinone

Naphyrone, also known as naphthylpyrovalerone and O-2482, is a cathinone derivative that has been recently advertized for purchase on a number of websites. Naphyrone belongs to a new class of "designer drugs" that has emerged on the drugs abuse market and has gained popularity as the new "legal high." Legal highs have been circulating for a number of years in Europe and are becoming popular in the United States. They are affordable, widely available, legal to use and possess, and legal to supply. This review presents any available information about safety profile, clinical data, analytical profile, and legislation of this legal high, which is not legal any more. Any available information has been collected by various literature search engines and the World Wide Web. The structure of naphyrone is similar to that of pyrovalerone, a monoamine uptake inhibitor. This new designer drug does not have a long history of use, so there is little evidence of its long-term effects or on the risks from its use. Because of its similarity to other cathinone derivatives, naphyrone is likely to share the same risks, such as anxiety, paranoia, and overstimulation of the heart and circulatory system. Naphyrone was classified as a controlled drug under the UK Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971 (Amendment No. 2) Regulation 2010.

Topics: Designer Drugs; Europe; Humans; Illicit Drugs; Legislation, Drug; Pentanones; Pyrrolidines; Substance-Related Disorders; United States

Naphyrone, also known as NRG-1, is a novel psychoactive substance (NPS), a cathinone with stimulatory properties available on the grey/illicit drug market for almost a decade. It is structurally related to infamously known powerful stimulants with the pyrovalerone structure, such as alpha-pyrrolidinovalerophenone (α-PVP) or methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) that are labeled as a cheap replacement for cocaine and other stimulants. Despite the known addictive potential of α-PVP and MDPV, there are no studies directly evaluating naphyrone's addictive potential e.g., in conditioned place preference (CPP) test or using self-administration. Therefore, our study was designed to evaluate the addictive potential in a CPP test in male Wistar rats and compare its effect to another powerful stimulant with a high addictive potential - methamphetamine. Naphyrone increased time spent in the drug-paired compartment with 5 and 20 mg/kg s.c. being significant and 10 mg/kg s.c. reaching the threshold (p = 0.07); the effect was comparable to that of methamphetamine 1.5 mg/kg s.c. The lowest dose, naphyrone 1 mg/kg s.c., had no effect on CPP. Interestingly, no dose response effect was detected. Based on these data, we are able to conclude that naphyrone has an addictive potential and may possess a significant risk to users.

Topics: Alkaloids; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Central Nervous System Stimulants; Conditioning, Classical; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Male; Methamphetamine; Pentanones; Pyrrolidines; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Substance-Related Disorders

Naphyrone (naphthylpyrovalerone) is a cathinone derivative and recreational drug related to mephedrone.. We report a 31-year-old man who ingested a dose of naphyrone (100 mg), which produced acute sympathomimetic toxicity with restlessness, insomnia, anxiety, and hallucinations lasting for 2 days. Naphyrone was detected in the patient's plasma by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry at concentrations of 0.03 and 0.02 mg/L, 40 and 60 h after drug intake, respectively.. Based on the present case report and user web-reports, as well as on the chemical structure and pharmacological characteristics, naphyrone produces stimulant-like psychotropic effects and sympathomimetic toxicity.

Topics: Adult; Anxiety; Hallucinations; Humans; Illicit Drugs; Male; Pentanones; Psychomotor Agitation; Psychotropic Drugs; Pyrrolidines; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Substance Abuse Detection; Substance-Related Disorders; Sympathetic Nervous System