The advent of a new pseudoephedrine product to combat methamphetamine abuse
نویسندگان
چکیده
BACKGROUND The personal and societal effects of methamphetamine abuse are well documented. The ease of accessibility to methamphetamine and the quality of the "high" it produces makes the drug highly desired by its abusers. Over time, many methamphetamine users will also become methamphetamine cooks, where pseudoephedrine in over-the-counter cold products is converted to methamphetamine through a simple, albeit extremely dangerous, process. New laws limiting access to these products have had limited success. No existing commercial pseudoephedrine products offer significant impediments to slow or limit the extraction and conversion of pseudoephedrine in clandestine methamphetamine laboratories. OBJECTIVE AND METHODS A new pseudoephedrine 30 mg tablet product using Impede technology (Nexafed®) to deter methamphetamine production has recently been introduced into the marketplace. Using methods designed to mimic clandestine laboratory processes, the ability of this product to disrupt extraction and conversion of pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine yet provide therapeutic effectiveness was evaluated. RESULTS Impede™ technology tablets limited the extraction and/or conversion of pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine when compared to a commercially marketed pseudoephedrine product (Sudafed®). Nexafed® tablets were also shown to be bioequivalent to the same control product, thus ensuring therapeutic equivalence. CONCLUSIONS With the advent of new pseudoephedrine products in the marketplace with features to limit the extraction and conversion of pseudoephedrine to methamphetamine, new tools are now available to minimize the clandestine manufacture of the drug and potentially limit its social impact.
منابع مشابه
Degradation pattern of illicit drugs in soil
The abuse of illicit drugs has received worldwide attention due to their significant adverse impacts on human and the environment. The aim of the present work was to determine the degradation pattern of certain compounds (associated with the clandestine manufacture of illicit drugs) in soil. The target compounds include parent drug (methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)),...
متن کاملFetishism Due to Methamphetamine (Glass) Abuse: A Case Report
Background: Fetishism is a type of paraphilia. The focus of sexual arousal in fetishism is oriented towards inanimate objects. Sexual arousal and craving are some of the reasons the youth resort to crystal (glass). Drug abuse may cause disorders in sexual function. Case Report: The patient was a 41 years old man. He married in age 22 years and experienced frequent intercourses with his wife fro...
متن کاملNeural Correlates of Craving in Methamphetamine Abuse
Introduction: Methamphetamine is a powerful psychostimulant that causes significant neurological impairments with long-lasting effects and has provoked serious international concerns about public health. Denial of drug abuse and drug craving are two important factors that make the diagnosis and treatment extremely challenging. Here, we present a novel and rapid noninvasive method...
متن کاملEvaluating Amphetamine and Methamphetamine Abuse Frequency in Hospitalized Patients of the Psychiatric Ward of Farshchian Hospital in Hamadan City
Introduction: Amphetamine and methamphetamine are man-made materials. They were only used as drugs at the beginning, but gradually outspreaded as psychedelics because of their sympathomimetic effects. Different studies have shown that the frequency of amphetamine and methamphetamine abuse has been increasing; also, there is a close relationship in amphetamine and methamphetamine abuse with psyc...
متن کامل