Human experiments with unknown substances

Photo: Sander Ilvest

Since September, nine youth in Rakvere have been hospitalised having smoked the so-called synthetic cannabis aka spice. By now, Estonian Forensic Science Institute (EKEI) has established the psychoactive substance.

Not limited to Rakvere alone, the substance has now spread to Rapla County and Saaremaa.

The drug isn’t in the narcotic and psychotropic substance list as yet, but will be added within months as proposed to social ministry by State Agency of Medicines last week.

To honour request by police, Postimees will therefore not disclose the name of the substance.

Secondly, the biggest problem with synthetic drugs is that as soon as one is banned, a similar substance promptly comes on the market with a slightly modified molecule.

«It’s like a race we are in – the synthetic cannabinoids which spread more widely are entered into the banned substance list. Once the substance is in the list, it slowly starts to fade off the market and new ones come in their stead,» explained EKEI chemistry department head Aime Riikoja.

By post

Since 2010, EKEI has filed State Agency of Medicines proposals for 22 new psychoactive substances to be listed. «All these have also been entered,» confirmed Malle Tiidelepp, chief inspector at the agency’s narcotic and psychotropic substance department.

EKEI director Üllar Lanno shows the packages the synthetic substances are sold in – the eye spots no difference. The black package sometimes only has the molecule marked on it, but often the content differs even from that. At times, nothing is written at all, just the coloured edge of the package referring to what might be inside.

Recently, a large quantity of substance was caught by Tax and Customs Board (MTA) which looks like hashish but in reality is brown plant mass saturated with a psychotropic chemical. According to the board’s investigative department drug bureau chief Urmet Tambre, the appearance of what was confiscated points to an attempt to sell it as some well-known drug.  

And then there are the companies which sell synthetic drugs as «laboratory chemicals» while in reality it is purchased for smoking.

«To sell such substances as laboratory chemicals may be legal but as a person consumes it the substance found in his blood may be banned,» said Mr Lanno.

For instance, EKEI lab holds packages with the synthetic cannabinoid AM 2201 – one already included in the banned drugs list. The person who has ordered a package of that from some Internet store abroad will be punished.

According to Mr Lanno, young people are not aware of how great a health hazard some synthetic substance may be, as it is easy to order it home by post.

Last year while monitoring, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) discovered 651 websites where synthetic drugs were being sold to Europeans.

«The content of a bag cannot be established at the purchase, only in a laboratory. Consuming these, a person is doing human experiments on himself which may lead to breathing or the heart stopped, or psychosis,» said Mr Lanno, adding that the pharmaceutical industry tests drugs for years before bringing something new to the market. «The youth have the false assumption that once somebody is selling something, it must have been tested.»

Composition changed

Ms Riikoja added that the effect and quantity of dose is often unknown. «People are testing on themselves to find out the right dose,» she said.

Regrettably, synthetic cannabis is often many times stronger than the natural one, thus often landing users in hospital due to overdose.

According to Ms Riikoja, an ever increasing amount of synthetic drugs is reaching EKEI but she was not able to say if the use has gone up or whether Police and Border Guard Board and Tax and Customs Board are just getting more effective.  

Synthetic cannabis started to spread in 2008 under trademark Spice, and the name stuck. In reality, the composition of the substance has since then changed many times over.

Even so, expert analyses for synthetic substances are much rarer than those related to use of cannabis and amphetamine.

Western and Southern Prefectures are both currently handling one criminal case each related to synthetic cannabis; Eastern Prefecture has three on their hands.

EKEI says to their knowledge there are no deaths as yet in Estonia due to synthetic cannabinoid, but in other countries fatal cases have been registered. But we have had people hospitalised due to use of these, mainly minors.

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Synthetic drugs

• Mostly, the powder type synthetic cannabinoids are made in China from where these are exported in large quantities. Once in the European Union, the chemicals are usually mixed with ground herbs or sprayed on it, then packaged for sales over the Internet.
• The drugs are also prepared in secret labs in Europe and sold straight on the market. Some, however, are imported from China or India and are sold as food supplements, scientific chemicals, medicines or legal drugs.
• These indeed are psychoactive substances and their effect resembles that of narcotics, but they are not originally in the narcotic and psychotropic substance list and their chemical composition differs from source substance. Thus, they are not originally prohibited.
• Such substances are also called legal intoxicants. Mostly, they enter the market via Internet.

Source: EMCDDA