Ketamine is a medication primarily used for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. It induces dissociative anesthesia, a trance-like state providing pain relief, sedation, and amnesia. The distinguishing features of ketamine anesthesia are preserved breathing and airway reflexes, stimulated heart function with increased blood pressure, and moderate bronchodilation. At lower, sub-anesthetic doses, ketamine is a promising agent for pain and treatment-resistant depression. However, the antidepressant action of a single administration of ketamine wanes with time and the effects of repeated use have not been sufficiently studied.
In chemistry, an enantiomer – also called optical isomer, antipode, or optical antipode – is one of two stereoisomers that are mirror images of each other that are non-superposable, much as one's left and right hands are mirror images of each other that cannot appear identical simply by reorientation. A single chiral atom or similar structural feature in a compound causes that compound to have two possible structures which are non-superposable, each a mirror image of the other. Each member of the pair is termed an enantiomorph ; the structural property is termed enantiomerism. The presence of multiple chiral features in a given compound increases the number of geometric forms possible, though there may still be some perfect-mirror-image pairs.
Club drugs, also called rave drugs or party drugs, are a loosely defined category of recreational drugs which are associated with discothèques in the 1970s and nightclubs, dance clubs, electronic dance music (EDM) parties, and raves in the 1980s to today. Unlike many other categories, such as opiates and benzodiazepines, which are established according to pharmaceutical or chemical properties, club drugs are a "category of convenience", in which drugs are included due to the locations they are consumed and/or where the user goes while under the influence of the drugs. Club drugs are generally used by adolescents and young adults. This group of drugs is also called "designer drugs", as most are synthesized in a chemical lab rather than being sourced from plants or opiates.
Clandestine chemistry is chemistry carried out in secret, and particularly in illegal drug laboratories. Larger labs are usually run by gangs or organized crime intending to produce for distribution on the black market. Smaller labs can be run by individual chemists working clandestinely in order to synthesize smaller amounts of controlled substances or simply out of a hobbyist interest in chemistry, often because of the difficulty in ascertaining the purity of other, illegally synthesized drugs obtained on the black market. The term clandestine lab is generally used in any situation involving the production of illicit compounds, regardless of whether the facilities being used qualify as a true laboratory.
Total synthesis is the complete chemical synthesis of a complex molecule, often a natural product, from simple, commercially-available precursors. It usually refers to a process not involving the aid of biological processes, which distinguishes it from semisynthesis. Syntheses may sometimes conclude at a precursor with further known synthetic pathways to a target molecule, in which case it is known as a formal synthesis. Total synthesis target molecules can be natural products, medicinally-important active ingredients, known intermediates, or molecules of theoretical interest. Total synthesis targets can also be organometallic or inorganic, though these are rarely encountered. Total synthesis projects often require a wide diversity of reactions and reagents, and subsequently requires broad chemical knowledge and training to be successful.
Organic synthesis is a special branch of chemical synthesis and is concerned with the intentional construction of organic compounds. Organic molecules are often more complex than inorganic compounds, and their synthesis has developed into one of the most important branches of organic chemistry. There are several main areas of research within the general area of organic synthesis: total synthesis, semisynthesis, and methodology.
3,4-Methylenedioxyphenylpropan-2-one or piperonyl methyl ketone is a chemical compound consisting of a phenylacetone moiety substituted with a methylenedioxy functional group. It is commonly synthesized from either safrole or its isomer isosafrole via oxidation using the Wacker oxidation or peroxyacid oxidation methods. MDP2P is unstable at room temperature and must be kept in the freezer in order to be preserved properly.
Ethylamine, also known as ethanamine, is an organic compound with the formula CH3CH2NH2. This colourless gas has a strong ammonia-like odor. It condenses just below room temperature to a liquid miscible with virtually all solvents. It is a nucleophilic base, as is typical for amines. Ethylamine is widely used in chemical industry and organic synthesis.
Etoxadrol (CL-1848C) is a dissociative anaesthetic drug that has been found to be an NMDA antagonist and produce similar effects to PCP in animals. Etoxadrol, along with another related drug dexoxadrol, were developed as analgesics for use in humans, but development was discontinued in the late 1970s after patients reported side effects such as nightmares and hallucinations.
Norpethidine is a 4-phenylpiperidine derivative that is both a precursor to, and the toxic metabolite of, pethidine (meperidine). It is scheduled by UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. It is a Schedule II Narcotic controlled substance in the United States and has an ACSCN of 9233. The 2014 annual manufacturing quota was 11 grams (0.39 oz).
The illegal drug trade in China is influenced by factors such as history, location, size, population, and current economic conditions. China has one-fifth of the world's population and a large and expanding economy. China's large land mass, close proximity to the Golden Triangle, Golden Crescent, and numerous coastal cities with large and modern port facilities make it an attractive transit center for drug traffickers. Opium has played an important role in the country's history since before the First and Second Opium Wars in the mid-19th century.
Arylcyclohexylamines, also known as arylcyclohexamines or arylcyclohexanamines, are a chemical class of pharmaceutical, designer, and experimental drugs.
4-Methoxyphencyclidine is a dissociative anesthetic drug that has been sold online as a research chemical. The synthesis of 4-MeO-PCP was first reported in 1965 by the Parke-Davis medicinal chemist Victor Maddox. A 1999 review published by a chemist using the pseudonym John Q. Beagle suggested the potency of 4-MeO-PCP in man was reduced relative to PCP, two years later Beagle published a detailed description of the synthesis and qualitative effects of 4-MeO-PCP, which he said possessed 70% the potency of PCP. 4-MeO-PCP was the first arylcyclohexylamine research chemical to be sold online, it was introduced in late 2008 by a company trading under the name CBAY and was followed by several related compounds such as 3-MeO-PCP and methoxetamine. 4-MeO-PCP has lower affinity for the NMDA receptor than PCP, but higher affinity than ketamine, it is orally active in a dosage range similar to ketamine, with some users requiring doses in excess of 100 mg for desired effects. Users have reported substantial differences in active dose, these discrepancies can be partially explained by the presence of unreacted PCC and other impurities in samples sold on the grey market. 4-MeO-PCP has Ki values of 404 nM for the NMDA receptor, 713 nM for the norepinephrine transporter, 844 nM for the serotonin transporter, 296 nM for the σ1 receptor and 143 nM for the σ2 receptor.
Methoxetamine, abbreviated as MXE, is a dissociative hallucinogen that has been sold as a designer drug. It differs from many dissociatives such as ketamine and phencyclidine (PCP) that were developed as pharmaceutical drugs for use as general anesthetics in that it was designed specifically for recreational use. Due to its structural similarity to ketamine, it is no longer produced in sizeable quantities due to near-global bans. It is a rare example of a drug being so widely controlled without having an existing medical use.
Drug precursors, also referred to as precursor chemicals or simply precursors, are substances which are known to be used in the illegal manufacture of illicit drugs. Most precursors also have legitimate commercial uses and are legally used in a wide variety of industrial processes and consumer products, such as medicines, flavourings, and fragrances.
Triacetic acid lactone is an organic compound derived enzymatically from glucose. It is a light yellow solid that is soluble in organic solvents.
2-Fluorodeschloroketamine is a dissociative anesthetic related to ketamine. Its sale and use as a designer drug has been reported in various countries. It is an analogue of ketamine where the chlorine group has been replaced by fluorine. Due to its recent emergence, the pharmocological specifics of the compound are mostly unclear.
Sam Gor, also known as The Company, is an international crime syndicate, based in Asia-Pacific. The organization is made up of members of five different triads: 14K, Bamboo Union, Big Circle Boys, Sun Yee On and Wo Shing Wo. Sam Gor is understood to be headed by Chinese–Canadian Tse Chi Lop, who was arrested in January 2021 in the Netherlands. The syndicate is primarily involved in drug trafficking, earning at least $8 billion per year. "Sam Gor is alleged to control between 40 and 70% of the Asia-Pacific methamphetamine market, while also trafficking heroin, ketamine and synthetic drugs, and precursor chemicals. The group is active or working with organized crime partners in a variety of countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, New Zealand, Australia, Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and Vietnam. Sam Gor previously produced meth in Southern China and is now believed to manufacture mainly in the Golden Triangle, specifically Shan State, Myanmar, responsible for much of the massive surge of crystal meth in recent years.
25E-NBOH is a derivative of the phenethylamine derived hallucinogen 2C-E. It was first developed by Martin Hansen at the University of Copenhagen in 2010 as a brain imaging agent, but has subsequently been sold as a designer drug, first being identified in Brazil in 2018 on seized blotter paper, as well as in Slovenia. It acts as a potent serotonin receptor agonist with similar affinity to better-known compounds such as 25I-NBOMe at 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors.
N-t-BOC-MDMA is a chemical compound which can be both a synthetic precursor to, or a prodrug of the empathogenic drug MDMA. It was first identified in Australia in 2015 as a seizure by customs, and has subsequently been found in China, the Netherlands and other European countries. Originally it was thought to be intended as a non-illegal form of MDMA which could be easily converted into the prohibited final product after importation, however one seizure by police found N-t-BOC-MDMA in the process of being pressed into pills, and experiments with simulated gastric fluid confirmed that it can be broken down to MDMA by human stomach acid. Similar N-protected compounds such as N-t-BOC-methamphetamine, N-p-tosyl-methamphetamine, N-t-BOC-ketamine, N-t-BOC-norketamine and N-methoxycarbonyl-MDA have also been encountered by law enforcement.
