Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Forensic Toxicology
Published in: Forensic Toxicology 2/2017

Open Access 01-07-2017 | Minireview

Motor vehicle collisions caused by the ‘super-strength’ synthetic cannabinoids, MAM-2201, 5F-PB-22, 5F-AB-PINACA, 5F-AMB and 5F-ADB in Japan experienced from 2012 to 2014

Author: Shuji Kaneko

Published in: Forensic Toxicology | Issue 2/2017

Login to get access

Abstract

From 2012 to 2014 in Japan, 214 cases of motor vehicle collisions were attributed to the use of illegal drugs. In 93 out of 96 investigated cases, the causative agents were a variety of synthetic cannabinoids (SCs). These SCs can be classified into three groups according to the lineage of the chemical structures: (1) naphthoyl indoles, such as MAM-2201, (2) quinolinyl ester indoles, such as 5F-PB-22, and (3) indazole carboxamides, such as 5F-AB-PINACA, 5F-AMB, and 5F-ADB. These SCs became available sequentially with increasing cannabinoid CB1 agonist potencies and reached a nationwide outbreak in the summer of 2014. They caused acute intoxication with impaired consciousness, anterograde amnesia (impaired memory), catalepsy with muscle rigidity, tachycardia, and vomiting or drooling soon after smoking. Drivers who had abused one of these SCs might unexpectedly experience the acute intoxication that caused uncontrolled driving. These SCs were generally difficult to detect from body fluid samples. It is thought that the highly lipophilic SCs disappear from the blood via rapid degradation by liver enzymes and selective accumulation into adipose tissues. Thus, much effort should be directed to the development of fast and sensitive chemical detection of the drug usage.
Literature
1.
Castaneto MS, Gorelick DA, Desrosiers NA, Hartman RL, Pirard S, Huestis MA (2014) Synthetic cannabinoids: epidemiology, pharmacodynamics, and clinical implications. Drug Alcohol Depend 144:12–41CrossRefPubMed
2.
Seely KA, Lapoint J, Moran JH, Fattore L (2012) Spice drugs are more than harmless herbal blend: a review of the pharmacology and toxicology of synthetic cannabinoids. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 39:234–243CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
3.
Gunderson EW, Haughey HM, Ait-Daoud N, Joshi AS, Hart CL (2012) “Spice” and “K2” herbal sighs: a case series and systematic review of the clinical effects and biopsychosocial implications of synthetic cannabinoid use in humans. Am J Addict 21:320–326CrossRefPubMed
4.
Uchiyama N, Kawamura M, Kikura-Hanajiri R, Goda Y (2013) URB-754: a new class of designer drug and 12 synthetic cannabinoids detected in illegal products. Forensic Sci Int 227:21–32CrossRefPubMed
5.
Derungs A, Schwaninger AE, Mansella G, Bingisser R, Kraemer T, Liechti ME (2013) Symptoms, toxicities, and analytical results for a patient after smoking herbs containing the novel synthetic cannabinoid MAM-2201. Forensic Toxicol 31:163–171CrossRef
6.
Teske J, Weller JP, Fieguth A, Rothämel T, Schulz Y, Tröger HD (2010) Sensitive and rapid quantification of the cannabinoid receptor agonist naphthalen-1-yl-(1-pentylindol-3-yl)methanone (JWH-018) in human serum by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr B 878:2659–2663CrossRef
7.
Saito T, Namera A, Miura N, Ohta S, Miyazaki S, Osawa M, Inokuchi S (2013) A fatal case of MAM-2201 poisoning. Forensic Toxicol 31:333–337CrossRef
8.
Irie T, Kikura-Hanajiri E, Usami M, Uchiyama N, Goda Y, Sekino Y (2015) MAM-2201, a synthetic cannabinoid drug of abuse, suppresses the synaptic input to cerebellar Purkinje cells via activation of presynaptic CB1 receptors. Neuropharmacology 95:479–491CrossRefPubMed
9.
Kronstrand R, Roman M, Anderson M, Eklund A (2013) Toxicological findings of synthetic cannabinoids in recreational users. J Anal Toxicol 37:534–541CrossRefPubMed
10.
Uchiyama N, Matsuda S, Kawamura M, Kikura-Hanajiri R, Goda Y (2013) Two new-type cannabimimetic quinolinyl carboxylates, QUPIC and QUCHIC, two new cannabimimetic carboxamide derivatives, ADB-FUBINACA and ADBICA, and five synthetic cannabinoids detected with a thiophene derivative α-PVT and an opioid receptor agonist AH-7921 identified in illegal products. Forensic Toxicol 31:223–240CrossRef
11.
Banister SD, Stuart J, Kevin RC, Edington A, Longworth M, Wilkinson SM, Beinat C, Buchanan AS, Hibbs DE, Glass M, Connor M, McGregor IS, Kassiou M (2015) Effects of bioisosteric fluorine in synthetic cannabinoid designer drugs JWH-018, AM-2201, UR-144, XLR-11, PB-22, 5F-PB-22, APICA, and STS-135. ACS Chem Neurosci 6:1445–1458CrossRefPubMed
12.
Wohlfarth A, Gandhi AS, Pang S, Zhu M, Scheidweiler KB, Huestis MA (2014) Metabolism of synthetic cannabinoids PB-22 and its 5-fluoro analog, 5F-PB-22, by human hepatocyte incubation and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Anal Bioanal Chem 406:1763–1780CrossRefPubMed
13.
Behonick G, Shanks KG, Firchau DJ, Mathur G, Lynch CF, Nashelsky M, Jaskierny DJ, Merouch C (2014) Four postmortem case reports with quantitative detection of the synthetic cannabinoid 5F-PB-22. J Anal Toxicol 38:559–562CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
14.
Buchler IP, Hayes MJ, Hegde SG, Hockerman SL, Jones DE, Kortum SW, Rico JG, Tenbrink RE, Wu KK (2009) Indazole derivatives as CB1 receptor modulators and their preparation and use in the treatment of CB1-mediated diseases. Patent WO/2009/106982
15.
Banister SD, Moir M, Stuart J, Kevin RC, Wood KE, Longworth M, Wilkinson SM, Beinat C, Buchanan AS, Glass M, Connor M, McGregor IS, Kassiou M (2015) Pharmacology of indole and indazole synthetic cannabinoid designer drugs AB-FUBINACA, ADB-FUBINACA, AB-PINACA, ADB-PINACA, 5F-AB-PINACA, 5F-ADB-PINACA, ADBICA, and 5F-ADBICA. ACS Chem Neurosci 6:1546–1559CrossRefPubMed
16.
Banister SD, Longworth M, Kevin R, Sachdev S, Santiago M, Stuart J,  Mack JBC, Glass M, McGregor IS, Connor M, Kassiou M (2016) Pharmacology of valinate and tert-leucinate synthetic cannabinoids 5F-AMBICA, 5F-AMB, 5F-ADB, AMB-FUBINACA, MDMB-FUBINACA, MDMB-CHMICA, and their analogues. ACS Chem Neurosci 7:1241–1254CrossRefPubMed
17.
Wiley JL, Marusich JA, Lefever TW, Antonazzo KR, Wallgren MT, Cortes RA, Patel PR, Grabenauer M, Moore KN, Thomas BF (2015) AB-CHMINACA, AB-PINACA and AB-FUBIMINA: affinity and potency of novel synthetic cannabinoids in producing Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol-like effects in mice. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 354:328–339CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
18.
Sano K, Mishima K, Koushi E, Orito K, Egashira N, Irie K, Takasaki K, Katsurabayashi S, Iwasaki K, Uchida N, Egawa T, Kitamura Y, Nishimura R, Fujiwara M (2008) Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol-induced catalepsy-like immobilization is mediated by decreased 5-HT neurotransmission in the nucleus accumbens due to the action of glutamate-containing neurons. Neuroscience 151:320–328CrossRefPubMed
19.
Asaoka N, Kawai H, Nishitani N, Kinoshita H, Shibui N, Nagayasu K, Shirakawa H, Kaneko S (2016) A new designer drug 5F-ADB activates midbrain dopaminergic neurons but not serotonergic neurons. J Toxicol Sci 41:813–816CrossRefPubMed
20.
Andersson M, Diao X, Wohlfarth A, Scheidweiler KB, Huestis MA (2016) Metabolic profiling of new synthetic cannabinoids AMB and 5F-AMB by human hepatocyte and liver microsome incubations and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 30:1067–1078CrossRefPubMed
21.
Wohlfarth A, Castaneto MS, Zhu M, Pang S, Scheidweiler KB, Kronstrand R, Huestis MA (2015) Pentylindole/pentylindazole synthetic cannabinoids and their 5-fluoro analogs produce different primary metabolites: metabolite profiling for AB-PINACA and 5F-AB-PINACA. AAPS J 17:660–677CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
22.
Hasegawa K, Wurita A, Minakata K, Gonmori K, Nozawa H, Yamagishi I, Watanabe K, Suzuki O (2015) Postportem distribution of AB-CHMINACA, 5-fluoro-AMB, and diphenidine in body fluids and solid tissues in a fatal poisoning case: usefulness of adipose tissue for detection of the drugs in unchanged forms. Forensic Toxicol 33:45–53CrossRef
23.
Hasegawa K, Wurita A, Minakata K, Gonmori K, Yamagishi I, Nozawa H, Watanabe K, Suzuki O (2015) Identification and quantification of 5-fluoro-ADB, one of the most dangerous synthetic cannabinoids, in the stomach contents and solid tissues of a human cadaver and in some herbal products. Forensic Toxicol 33:112–121CrossRef
24.
Hasegawa K, Wurita A, Minakata K, Gonmori K, Nozawa H, Yamagishi I, Watanabe K, Suzuki O (2015) Postportem distribution of MAB-CHMINACA in body fluids and solid tissues of a human cadaver. Forensic Toxicol 33:380–387CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
Metadata
Title
Motor vehicle collisions caused by the ‘super-strength’ synthetic cannabinoids, MAM-2201, 5F-PB-22, 5F-AB-PINACA, 5F-AMB and 5F-ADB in Japan experienced from 2012 to 2014
Author
Shuji Kaneko
Publication date
01-07-2017
Publisher
Springer Japan
Published in
Forensic Toxicology / Issue 2/2017
Print ISSN: 1860-8965
Electronic ISSN: 1860-8973
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11419-017-0369-6

Other articles of this Issue 2/2017

Forensic Toxicology 2/2017 Go to the issue

Original Article

Mass spectrometric identification and structural analysis of the third-generation synthetic cannabinoids on the UK market since the 2013 legislative ban

Original Article

Earwax: an innovative tool for assessment of tobacco use or exposure. A pilot study in young adults

Original Article

Identification and structural characterization of four novel synthetic cathinones: α-methylaminohexanophenone (hexedrone, HEX), 4-bromoethcathinone (4-BEC), 4-chloro-α-pyrrolidinopropiophenone (4-Cl-PPP), and 4-bromo-α-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (4-Br-PVP) after their seizures

Short Communication

25I-NBOH: a new potent serotonin 5-HT2A receptor agonist identified in blotter paper seizures in Brazil

Short Communication

Preventing misidentification of 25I-NBOH as 2C-I on routine GC–MS analyses

Original Article

Sensitive identification and quantitation of parent forms of six synthetic cannabinoids in urine samples of human cadavers by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry