BAN ON NRG1 HOPE NRG 2 DOESNT GET BANNED

NRG-1 and NRG-2 products purchased online from UK based websites in the 6 weeks after the ban on mephedrone notice NRG 2 tested comes bk as mephedrone but it aint as dodgy as drone and u dont gurn off it its nice shit not as strong as drone but still good though,

Website No Label* Comment
1 NRG-1 Butylone + MDPV (3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone)
2 NRG-1 Flephedrone (4-fluoromethcathinone)
3 NRG-1 Flephedrone + MDPV
3 NRG-2 Methyl-N-ethylcathinone
4 NRG-1 Flephedrone + MDPV
5 NRG-1 Caffeine + traces of mephedrone
6 NRG-1 Naphyrone
7 NRG-1 Butylone + MDPV
8 MDAI Inorganic composition
9 NRG-1 Mephedrone
10 NRG-1 Inorganic composition
10 NRG-2 Mephedrone + benzocaine
11 NRG-1 Mephedrone
11 NRG-2 Mephedrone
11 DMC Caffeine + lidocaine
11 MDAI Mephedrone
12 NRG-2 4-Methyl-N-ethylcathinone

*DMC=dimethocaine, MDAI=5,6-methylenedioxy-2-aminoindane.












Second generation mephedrone


The confusing case of NRG-1

Since the recent ban on mephedrone,1 2several alternative products have been introduced on internet websites. One of the most prominently discussed second generation products is Energy 1 (NRG-1), also advertised as naphyrone (naphthylpyrovalerone, O-2482), which originated from a group of compounds previously described in the medicinal chemistry literature.3

These products are offered as legal substitutes for the recently criminalised "legal highs," the mephedrone derivatives. One of the earlier studies exploring the motivation for using these drugs suggested that consumers think that they are more likely to be of higher purity than street drugs, carry a lower risk of physical harm, and not be liable for the criminal sanctions associated with drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act.4

To obtain an initial snapshot of the post-ban situation, we purchased 17 products online from 12 UK based websites over the six weeks after the ban on mephedrone in mid-April 2010. Chemical analysis was carried out by established procedures (table 1Go).5



NRG-1 and NRG-2 products purchased online from UK based websites in the 6 weeks after the ban on mephedrone


Most of the NRG-type products were recently banned cathinones that just carried a new label; this suggests that both consumers and online sellers are, most likely without knowledge, at risk of criminalisation and potential harm. This has important health and criminal justice consequences that will require carefully thought out responses and further investigation.

Cite this as: BMJ 2010;341:c3564

Simon D Brandt, senior lecturer in analytical chemistry1, Harry R Sumnall, reader in substance use2, Fiona Measham, senior lecturer in criminology3, Jon Cole, reader in psychology4

1 School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF , 2 Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 2AJ , 3 Department of Applied Social Science, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YT, 4 School of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZA

s.brandt@ljmu.ac.uk
Competing interests: None declared.

References

1. Morris K. UK places generic ban on mephedrone drug family. Lancet 2010;375:1333-4.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
2. Winstock AR, Marsden J, Mitcheson L. What should be done about mephedrone? BMJ 2010;340:c1605. (23 March.)[Free Full Text]
3. Meltzer PC, Butler D, Deschamps JR, Madras BK. 1-(4-methylphenyl)-2-pyrrolidin-1-yl-pentan-1-one (pyrovalerone) analogues: a promising class of monoamine uptake inhibitors. J Med Chem 2006;49:1420-32.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]
4. Measham F, Moore K, Newcombe R, Welch Z. Tweaking, bombing, dabbing and stockpiling: the emergence of mephedrone and the perversity of prohibition. Drugs Alcohol Today 2010;10:14-21.
5. Martins CPB, Freeman S, Alder JF, Passie T, Brandt SD. Profiling psychoactive tryptamine-drug synthesis by focusing on detection using mass spectrometry. Trends Anal Chem 2010;29:285-96.[CrossRef]




















The legal high NRG 1 is dangerous and should be banned immediately, a review panel has told the Government.

Legal highs including mephedrone and the now illegal GBL

From legal to illegal: Mephedrone and GBH are among the drugs already banned

The substance, called naphyrone, is similar to the party drug mephedrone and can "cause real harm", the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs concluded.

They have called on the Home Secretary Theresa May to classify it as a Class B drug and stop it being imported.

Researchers found naphyrone, a white powder costing £12 to £15 per gram, is often mixed with other harmful or illegal substances.

Test purchasing has demonstrated that what you think you are buying is often not what is in the packet.

Advisory Council chairman Professor Les Iversen

Side effects from taking the drug can include psychiatric symptoms; a surge in body temperature known as hyperthermia; and damage to the heart and blood vessels. Users can also develop a dependency to it or accidentally overdose.

The recommendation to ban it comes as part of a crackdown on so-called legal highs.

Mephedrone, which is also known as MCAT or Meow, was outlawed earlier this year after it was linked to a spate of deaths among young people.

Other substances to be slapped with ban recently include Spice, GBL and BZP.

"Naphyrone is a drug with the potential to cause real harm due to its potency and associated health effects," the Advisory Council chair, Professor Les Iversen, said.

Mephedrone

Mephedrone was banned after it hit the headlines

"Users of 'legal highs' should be aware that just because a substance is being advertised as legal does not make it safe, nor may it be legal.

"Test purchasing has demonstrated that what you think you are buying is often not what is in the packet. The harms and effects of your purchase may be different and or greater than you expect," he warned.

Martin Barnes, chief executive of the charity DrugScope, said there is evidence banned drugs such as mephedrone are being put into NRG 1 because manufacturers are trying to find ways to get rid of old stocks they can no longer sell legally.

"The focus should be on tackling the manufacture and supply of these substances and we support the recommendation that a public health campaign is launched to highlight the risks and potential harms," he said



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Drug watchdog recommends ban on mephedrone substitutes

Legal highs sold on web as research plant food are 'meow meow' in disguise, says misuse of drugs advisory council

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* Alan Travis, home affairs editor
* The Guardian, Wednesday 7 July 2010
* Article history

Mephedrone drug Mephedrone, or 'meow meow' was legal until it was banned in April. Photograph: Rex Features

Government drug advisers are expected to recommend a ban today on a new generation of legal highs that have been marketed as substitutes for mephedrone or "meow meow", which was banned in April.

The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is due to report to the home secretary, Theresa May, on the new group of legal highs, marketed as a "research plant food" NRG-1 and advertised with a chemical name of naphyrone.

But in a letter to the British Medical Journal published today a group of chemists and criminologists says that most of these NRG-type products are mephedrone being marketed under a new label.

The experts from Liverpool John Moores university based their disclosure on tests of 17 products bought online from 12 UK-based websites over the six weeks after the ban on mephedrone came into effect.

The BMJ letter says that NRG-1 is one of the most prominently discussed second-generation products which have been offered as legal substitutes for mephedrone and five other related pschoactive cathinone compounds which essentially imitate the effects of amphetamines.

"Most of the NRG-type products were recently banned cathinones that just carried a new label; this suggests that both consumers and online sellers are, most likely without knowledge, at risk of criminalisation and potential harm," says the letter signed by Simon Brandt, a senior lecturer in analytical chemistry and three others including criminologist, Fiona Measham, who was a co-author of the ACMD report recommending the original ban on mephedrone. "This has important health and criminal justice consequences."

They argue that their findings should be of concern to potential consumers who may believe that legal highs are of a higher purity than street drugs, carry fewer risks of physical harm and do not involve criminal penalties.

The ACMD inquiry into NRG-1 was initiated by the government in the wake of the ban on mephedrone. The original technical description of this group of compounds, synthetic designer drugs, is the "naphyl analogue of pyrovalerone". Pyrovalerone is already a banned class C drug in Britain. It is widely prescribed as an appetite suppressant.

NRG-1 is being sold on British websites as the latest in "research plant food" which is not fit for human consumption but which "your plants will enjoy trying out". Mephedrone was advertised in a similar way but the ACMD report noted it was useless as a plant food.