Seth Cooper Jason Kennedy Kansas City Police Crimelab Synthetic Cannabinoids and Bath Salts

 Synthetic Cannabinoids and Bath Salts have become one of the biggest challenges facing law enforcement and other disciplines within the last five years  These drugs are synthesized in an attempt to mimic the effects of controlled substances  Both synthetic cannabinoids and bath salts can trace their origins to “legitimate” research Many of the synthetic cannabinoids come from the research of John W. Huffman out of Clemson University (JWH Compounds) The research of David Nichols out of Purdue University has yielded several MDMA and LSD-like compounds that have shown up in street drug samples A Brief History

 Original synthetic cannabinoids contained JWH-018:  This became the “base” in which to modify and/or to add a variety of functional groups OG K2

 Chemical name = 1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole  Structure composed of three “components”: JWH-018 Naphthalene Indole Side Chain

Modification of structure  First place attacked was side chain: JWH-073 JWH-019 Length JWH-200 AM-2201 Functional Groups

 Modifications were made to other portions of the structure: JWH-203 JWH-081 JWH-210 Further Modification

 In an attempt to stay ahead of legislation, continually more complex structural modifications have been popping up: XLR11 AKB48 Complex Modifications

 Originally appeared as substituted cathinones:  More substitutions have been seen as well as complete deviation to other substances that have similar effects Bath Salts

 Most of the information for pharmacology of synthetic cannabinoids and bath salts comes from legitimate research Most of this is based on tests performed on mice and rats More information is available for synthetic cannabinoids than bath salts  Most of the compounds found in “K2” samples are cannabinoid receptor agonists Cannabinoid receptor agonists target the CB1 and CB2 receptors in the brain Potency of synthetic cannabinoids is commonly described using a Ki value: THC Ki = 10.2 HU-210Ki = 0.06 JWH-018Ki = 2.9 JWH-081Ki = 1.2 JWH-122Ki = 0.69 JWH-210Ki = 0.46 Pharmacology

 Bath Salts  Most compounds are substituted cathinones and have stimulant effects  Some of these compounds also have hallucinogenic effects  Substituted cathinones believed to be less potent MMC MDMC Methamphetamine MDMA (Ecstasy) Pharmacology (cont.)

 Originally tried to control individual compounds JWH-018, JWH-073, HU-210, CP Slowly added more as they were seen Constantly playing catch-up  Class Approach Naphthoylindoles and naphthylmethylindoles (JWH-018, JWH-073, AM2201) Naphthoylpyrroles (JWH-307) Naphthylmethylindenes (JWH-176) Phenylacetylindoles (JWH-201, JWH-203, JWH-250, RCS-8) Cyclohexylphenols (CP 47,497) Benzoylindoles (AM-694, RCS-4) Legislation – Synthetic Cannabinoids

 Missouri statutes ( )  A “Controlled Substance Analog” is also controlled  What does this mean?  Chemists have been educated on what determines whether one substance is an analog of another  The statutes have their own definition Legislation – alternative approaches

 Analog  Structural Analog - a compound having a structure similar to that of another one, but differing from it in respect of a certain component. It can differ in one or more atoms, functional groups, or substructures, which are replaced with other atoms, groups, or substructures Methane Silane  Functional Analog – a compound having similar physical, chemical, biochemical, or pharmacological properties JWH-019 AM-2201 Scientific Definition of Analog

 Missouri statutes ( )  Analog  Any new substance can be considered a controlled “analog” if: It has a substantially similar structure to a Schedule I or II hallucinogen, stimulant, or opiate, AND, It has the same CNS effects as the related Schedule I or II hallucinogen, stimulant, or opiate, OR, It was possessed or sold with the knowledge of being an analog Legislation – alternative approaches

 Missouri Statutes ( )  Anything falling under the definition of “Synthetic Cannabinoid” is also controlled  “Synthetic Cannabinoid” is defined as: "any natural or synthetic material, compound, mixture, or preparation that contains any quantity of a substance that is a cannabinoid receptor agonist…” Legislation – alternative approaches

 Currently individual compounds are controlled: 3-Fluoromethcathinone, 4-Fluoromethcathinone 4-Methylmethcathinone (Mephederone) 4-Methoxymethcathinone Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) 3,4-Methylenedioxymethcathinone (MDMC) 4-Methyl-alpha-pyrrolidinobutiophenone (MPBP)  These compounds have been further modified and seen in street samples: 4-Ethylmethcathinone 4-Methylethcathinone 3,4-Methylenedioxyethylcathinone (Ethylone) Butylone Pentedrone Naphyrone Legislation – Bath Salts

 Most of synthetic drug compounds are covered under Missouri statutes in one way or another They may be specifically listed – not likely for the newer compounds They may be covered in a class of compounds They may fall under the definition of “Synthetic Cannabinoid” They may be an analog of a controlled substance This controlled substance may be listed specifically or may also be covered in a class of compounds Controlled substance must be a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance It’s there!

 Synthetic drugs make everyone’s job harder What products do I recover? How do I analyze these samples? How do I file this case? Who do I get to testify at trial? How can I present this information at trial so that the jury will understand it? It’s not going to be easy!

 If marijuana is being made legal, why try to control synthetic marijuana? Some of these compounds are much more potent than THC There is no research on long-term effects There is no quality control on what is being sold  The means are currently available to penalize the people responsible for the manufacturing and sale of these dangerous drugs  Precedence only takes one successful prosecution “a legal high does not equal a safe high -- it just means it's not illegal yet." -David Nichols Is it worth it?

Questions?