Bath Salts, Flakka Flashcards
What are bath salts and why do they keep appearing on the streets?
They are a family of designer stimulant drugs that have become popular alternatives to cocaine and MDMA, they always end up on the streets because they frequently change, as one drug becomes illegal, it changes and get circulated again with technically ‘not illegal’ drugs. Popular for being dangerous that can harm or kill the user
How do bath salts get passed the law with ‘technically not illegal’ drugs?
Determining whether a drug is illegal or not is often based on their specific chemical structure, so if the structure is changed sufficiently it may no longer be considered illegal
What are designer drugs? Why are they dangerous?
Designer drugs are modified illegal drugs, designed a new structure that escapes the illegal net of certain drugs, makes it ‘kind of legal’. Its dangerous because there is no acute animal or human testing, no idea of its therapeutic index, dosing found by trial and error
What was the first major component of bath salts found?
Mephedrone (aka plant food) = 4- methylmethcathinone. (Cathinone is the class, its a naturally occurring drug found in plant khat.
True or false: types of bath salt drugs use changes extremely rapidly, if so why?
True, because as drugs are being made illegal, the popularity of them slowly decreases and other similar drugs become very popular very quickly
What are the common routes of administration, and at what dose produce effects?
Most common are snorting and ingesting, both obtain quick onset with prolonged effects. MDPV is highly lipophilic, can produce effects with very small doses but tend to have shorter effects
Cathinone and its derivatives are known as what?
Beta ketonated amphetamines
What structure do bath salts ressemble?
Some resemble amphetamines, while others resemble methamphetamines
What is flakka?
Second generation bath salt that is very cheap to use. They are linked to a high number of deaths. Other chemicals in this family include alpha-PPP, alpha-PBP
What allows flakka to cross lipids more easily than other cathinones?
The tertiary nitrogen of the pyrrolidine ring, therefore they tend to be more potent than cathinones without this group
What are cathinones mechanism of action?
Similar action to amphetamines, bind to and inhibit transporters for dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline and release of NT storage via reversal of transporter receptors.
What is IC50
The concentration of a drug at which it inhibits 50% of the uptake of NT
What is the abuse potential for MDPV?
Extremely high, because its really good at blocking dopamine
What are some symptoms from cathinone use related to surge in levels of dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin in the periphery?
Hyperthermia, Rhabdomyolysis (kidney failure), tachycardia, hypertension, chest pain, panic attacks, paranoia, suicidal thoughts, psychosis…
