What is the designer drug?

Answer 1

Designer drug is a term used to describe psychoactive drugs which are created (or marketed, if they had already existed) to get around existing drug laws, usually by modifying the molecular structures of existing drugs to varying degrees, or less commonly by finding drugs with entirely different chemical structures that produce similar subjective effects to illegal recreational drugs.

In the United States, the Controlled Substances Act was amended by the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement of 1986, which attempted to ban designer drugs pre-emptively by making it illegal to manufacture, sell, or possess chemicals that were substantially similar in chemistry and pharmacology to Schedule I or Schedule II drugs. Other countries have dealt with the issue differently. In some, they simply ban new drugs as they become a concern, as do Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Most of the best known research chemicals are structural analogues of tryptamines or phenethylamines, but there are also many other completely unrelated chemicals which can be considered as part of the group. It is very difficult to determine psychoactivity or other pharmaceutical properties of these compounds based strictly upon structural examination. Many of the substances have common effects whilst structurally different and vice versa. As a result of no real official naming for some of these compounds, as well as regional naming, this can all lead to (and is anecdotally known to have led to) potentially hazardous mix ups for users. Some common designer drugs include:

Opioids

* α-methylfentanyl, became well known as "China White" on the heroin market * parafluorofentanyl * 3-methylfentanyl, extremely potent opioid, allegedly used as a chemical weapon by the Russian military in the Moscow theater hostage crisis * MPPP, especially famous due to an impurity in some batches called MPTP which caused permanent Parkinsonism with a single use

Tryptamine-based

* 4-Acetoxy-DiPT, N,N-diisopropyl-4-acetoxytryptamine * 5-MeO-AMT, 5-methoxy-alpha-methyltryptamine * 5-MeO-DIPT, 5-methoxy-di-isopropyltryptamine (also known as "Foxy" or "Foxy Methoxy") * 5-MeO-DMT, 5-methoxy-dimethyltryptamine * AMT, α-methyltryptamine * AET, α-ethyltryptamine * DiPT, N,N-diisopropyl-tryptamine * DPT, N,N-dipropyltryptamine

Phenethylamine-based

* 2C-B, 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine * 2C-C, 2,5-dimethyoxy-4-chlorophenethylamine * 2C-I, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine * 2C-E, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethyl-phenethylamine * 2C-T-2, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylthiophenethylamine * 2C-T-7, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylthiophenethylamine * 2C-T-21, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(2-fluoroethylthio)phenethylamine * MDMA, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine * MDEA, 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-ethylamphetamine * DOB, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromoamphetamine * DOM, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine * TMA-2, 2,4,5-Trimethoxyamphetamine * PMA, a highly dangerous analogue of MDMA responsible for many accidental deaths

PCP analogues

* TCP, 1-[1-(2-thienyl)-cyclohexyl]-piperidine or thienylcyclohexylpiperidine * PCE, (1-Phenylcyclohexyl)ethylamine * PCPy, 1-(1-phenylcyclohexyl)pyrrolidine * 4-MeO-PCP

Piperazine-based

* BZP, benzylpiperazine * TFMPP, 3-Trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine, has the unique distinction of being the only drug to be emergency scheduled into Schedule I and then allowed to become legal because the DEA was unable to justify permanent scheduling * mCPP, 1-(3-chlorophenyl)piperazine * pFPP, 1-(4-fluorophenyl)piperazine

Steroids

* Norbolethone * THG, "The Clear" * Madol (sometimes confusingly referred to as "DMT")

Stimulants

* Geranamine * 4-Methylaminorex * MDPV * Desoxypipradrol * Diphenylprolinol * Mephedrone

Sedatives

* GBL, gamma-butyrolactone, both a precursor to and substitute for GHB * 1,4-Butanediol, another GHB analogue * Methylmethaqualone, an analogue of the sedative methaqualone * Mebroqualone

Erectile dysfunction

* Acetildenafil * Aminotadalafil * Homosildenafil * Hydroxyacetildenafil * Hydroxyhomosildenafil * Piperidino-acetildenafil * Piperidino-vardenafil

Cannabinoids

* THC-O-acetate * JWH-018 - found as an active ingredient in herbal smoking blends such as "Spice". * JWH-073 * JWH-200 * CP 47,497 * CP 55,940