Examination of Firearms Review: 2007 to 2010 - Interpol

officially published safety data concerning their effects in humans, a case was
reported for a patient who developed physical withdrawal phenomena and a
dependence syndrome similar to that seen in cannabis dependence, after the
consumption of "Spice" [176].
2.4.4 Pyrrolidinophenones
In the metabolism of 4'-methyl-alpha-pyrrolidinobutyrophenone (MPBP) to
4'-(hydroxymethyl)-alpha-pyrrolidinobutyrophenone, only P450 enzymes
CYP2D6, CYP2C19, and CYP1A2 were capable of catalyzing MPBP
4'-hydroxylation. From the relative activity factor and experiments with human
liver microsomes from CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 poor metabolizers, it could be
concluded that polymorphically expressed CYP2D6 is mainly responsible for
MPBP hydroxylation [177 ]. With the use of GC/MS, 11 metabolites of
alpha-pyrrolidinovalerophenone (PVP) in rat urine were identified, and a
metabolic pathway was suggested involving initial hydroxylation of the side
chain followed by dehydrogenation to the corresponding ketone [178]. For
studies on the quantitative involvement of P450s in the initial hydroxylation of
1-(4-methylphenyl)-2-pyrrolidin-1-ylhexan-1-one
(4'-methyl-alpha-pyrrolidinohexanophenone, MPHP), the metabolite
4'-hydroxymethyl-alpha-pyrrolidinohexanophenone (HO-MPHP) was
synthesized (for use as a reference standard) using a biotechnological
approach [ 179 ]. The NMR and MS data of another designer drug,
3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), which is claimed to be a stimulant
(first seized in Germany in 2007), were described [180].
2.5 Survey on Trends of Drug Use
2.5.1 Opiates
The global epidemic of opiate use continues to spread and is an increasing
burden, especially in developing countries. In a study of acute opiate
overdoses in a poisoning center in Tehran, Iran over a six month period,
showed that opium rather than heroin was most commonly used by regular
users, with benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and alcohol being the most
common agents co-consumed with opiates [181]. The pattern of poisoning in
the elderly population in Tehran also found that opioids and opiate products
accounted for 54.02% of the non-pharmaceuticals found, and that the most
frequently involved drug groups were benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and
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