AMB-FUBINACA explained

AMB-FUBINACA (also known as FUB-AMB and MMB-FUBINACA[1]) is an indazole-based synthetic cannabinoid that is a potent agonist for the cannabinoid receptors, with Ki values of 10.04 nM at CB1 and 0.786 nM at CB2 and EC50 values of 0.5433 nM at CB1 and 0.1278 nM at CB2,[2] and has been sold online as a designer drug.[3] [4] [5] [6] It was originally developed by Pfizer which described the compound in a patent in 2009, but was later abandoned and never tested on humans.[7] AMB-FUBINACA was the most common synthetic cannabinoid identified in drug seizures by the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2017 and the first half of 2018.[8]

Mass casualties

On July 12, 2016, the New York City Emergency Medical Services responded[9] to a "mass casualty event" in Brooklyn, New York,[7] where 33 people ranging in age from 25 to 59 years old were adversely affected by the drug.[9] 18 were hospitalized.[9] All of the victims were described by-standers as “zombielike” and the cause was attributed to use of AMB-FUBINACA as the demethylated metabolite was found in the blood and urine of eight of the hospitalized patients that had been sent for testing by the DEA. Screening for the more usual drugs of abuse was negative in all 8 patients. AMB-FUBINACA itself was found in a sample from the product smoked by another patient. The metabolite was identified after 10 days and the AMB-FUBINACA was only confirmed 17 days after the incident.[9]

Around 60 deaths in New Zealand were attributed to either AMB-FUBINACA or a related compound 5F-ADB during 2017–2018, with tested products containing between 32 mg/g and 400 mg/g of the active ingredient, between 2x to 25x stronger than the product involved in the mass casualty event in New York a year earlier.[10] [11] [12] [13]

Legal status

In the United States, AMB-FUBINACA is a Schedule I Controlled Substance.[14] Prior to being scheduled at the federal level, the state of Louisiana banned AMB-FUBINACA through an emergency rule after it was detected in a synthetic cannabis product called "Train Wreck 2" which had been linked to adverse events and seizures on 3 June 2014.[15]

Sweden's public health agency suggested classifying AMB-FUBINACA as a hazardous substance on November 10, 2014.[16]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Pulver B, Fischmann S, Gallegos A, Christie R . EMCDDA framework and practical guidance for naming synthetic cannabinoids . Drug Testing and Analysis . 15 . 3 . 255–276 . March 2023 . 36346325 . 10.1002/dta.3403 .
  2. Gamage TF, Farquhar CE, Lefever TW, Marusich JA, Kevin RC, McGregor IS, Wiley JL, Thomas BF . Molecular and Behavioral Pharmacological Characterization of Abused Synthetic Cannabinoids MMB- and MDMB-FUBINACA, MN-18, NNEI, CUMYL-PICA, and 5-Fluoro-CUMYL-PICA . The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics . 365 . 2 . 437–446 . May 2018 . 29549157 . 5932312 . 10.1124/jpet.117.246983 .
  3. Web site: FUB-AMB . Cayman Chemical . 21 July 2015.
  4. Akamatsu S, Yoshida M . Fragmentation of synthetic cannabinoids with an isopropyl group or a tert-butyl group ionized by electron impact and electrospray . Journal of Mass Spectrometry . 51 . 1 . 28–32 . January 2016 . 26757069 . 10.1002/jms.3722 . 2016JMSp...51...28A .
  5. Banister SD, Longworth M, Kevin R, Sachdev S, Santiago M, Stuart J, Mack JB, Glass M, McGregor IS, Connor M, Kassiou M . Pharmacology of Valinate and tert-Leucinate Synthetic Cannabinoids 5F-AMBICA, 5F-AMB, 5F-ADB, AMB-FUBINACA, MDMB-FUBINACA, MDMB-CHMICA, and Their Analogues . ACS Chemical Neuroscience . 7 . 9 . 1241–1254 . September 2016 . 27421060 . 10.1021/acschemneuro.6b00137 .
  6. Wagmann L, Stiller RG, Fischmann S, Westphal F, Meyer MR . Going deeper into the toxicokinetics of synthetic cannabinoids: in vitro contribution of human carboxylesterases . Archives of Toxicology . 96 . 10 . 2755–2766 . October 2022 . 35788413 . 9352624 . 10.1007/s00204-022-03332-z .
  7. News: Drug 85 Times as Potent as Marijuana Caused a 'Zombielike' State in Brooklyn . Santora M . 2016-12-14 . The New York Times . 0362-4331 . 2016-12-15.
  8. Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine . 20 . 1 . 2019 . 17–24 . Adolescents and Drug Abuse: 21st Century Synthetic Substances . Yin S . 10.1016/j.cpem.2019.03.003 . 88290992 .
  9. Adams AJ, Banister SD, Irizarry L, Trecki J, Schwartz M, Gerona R . 205100837 . "Zombie" Outbreak Caused by the Synthetic Cannabinoid AMB-FUBINACA in New York . The New England Journal of Medicine . 376 . 3 . 235–242 . January 2017 . 27973993 . 10.1056/NEJMoa1610300 . free .
  10. Web site: Killer chemicals, Part 1 . Stuff.co.nz . September 2017 .
  11. Web site: Worsening synthetic drug crisis demands action. . Stuff.co.nz . 18 September 2017 .
  12. News: Synthetic cannabis users gambling with their lives after a 'bad batch' . stuff.co.nz .
  13. Web site: Synthetic cannabis a 'public health emergency' . NZ Drug Foundation | Newshub . 2018-10-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181018002959/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/10/synthetic-cannabis-a-public-health-emergency-nz-drug-foundation.html . 2018-10-18 . dead .
  14. Web site: Controlled Substance list . Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) .
  15. Web site: DHH Adds Two New Synthetic Marijuana Compounds to Banned List . Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals . 3 June 2014 . 21 July 2015.
  16. Web site: Cannabinoider föreslås bli klassade som hälsofarlig vara . Folkhälsomyndigheten . Swedish. 21 July 2015.

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