brubei
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Australian border force news
2 papers caught my attention in the drug testing and analysis journal this week, 2 courageous australian chemists imported N-protected (tosyl and BOC)
amphetamines as precursors from china. I didn't know this kind of practice 
Tosylated product has been controlled due to the suspicious labeling of the package and BOC product revealed safrole as impurity on testing (pretty
bad) !
have fun
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dta.2059
"Identification and characterization of N-tert-butoxycarbonyl-MDMA: a new MDMA precursor"
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dta.2363
"Another chemically masked drug: p-tosyl methylamphetamine"
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j_sum1
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Links don't work for me.
Why do you call these guys corageous? Clever perhaps to exploit a novel way of evading detection.
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Corrosive Joeseph
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Attachment: Identification and characterization of N-tert-butoxycarbonyl-MDMA - a new MDMA precursor.pdf (679kB)
This file has been downloaded 663 times
Attachment: Another chemically masked drug - p-tosyl methylamphetamine.pdf (635kB)
This file has been downloaded 636 times
/CJ
Being well adjusted to a sick society is no measure of one's mental health
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Metacelsus
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Well, they certainly had chutzpah.
From the paper:
| Quote: | | It would be naïve to assume that attempts at chemical masking will cease and it is probable that clandestine manufacturers will simply use different
protecting groups as current ones are identified. |
I wonder how many different types of protecting groups would be viable for this (Fmoc, Cbz, etc.). The customs agents may need to improve their
screening methods.
[Edited on 2-1-2018 by Metacelsus]
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LearnedAmateur
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The possibilities are endless, in theory you could use any carboxylic acid and convert it to the amide, everyone with a hint of chemistry knows that
amides can be reverted to their parent amines by acid/base hydrolysis. I suspect however that these drugs, if converted for shipment, would become
more and more expensive as each route is explored and identified for future testing. Also more dangerous if it happens to be a particularly nasty
substituent, or if it’s not adequately (or at all) converted back before sale, which could quite easily happen considering that hardly anything
underground is properly examined or regulated.
In chemistry, sometimes the solution is the problem.
It’s been a while, but I’m not dead! Updated 7/1/2020. Shout out to Aga, we got along well.
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Reboot
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Here's another link to that first paper:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27574107
Interesting that they suggest it could be consumed as-is, relying on stomach acid to partially convert it to MDMA in vivo. Probably not practical,
though.
This material would likely test in the field as putative safrole even if there isn't a trace of residual safrole in it from synthesis, since a common
field reagent (Marquis) appears to work by reacting to the methylenedioxy ether bridge and shouldn't be significantly affected by whatever is
happening at the other end of the molecule.
I've wondered why we don't see more novel precursors. It could be a lack of creativity on the part of the cooks, or it could be that they just don't
get caught often enough to give us good information on their existence. Or it could be that law enforcement has been so ineffective in controlling
precursors that the labs just haven't needed to get too clever.
Trivia: The DEA appears to catch less than 1% of the drug trade in the US.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_Enforcement_Administratio...
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JJay
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Quote: Originally posted by Reboot  |
I've wondered why we don't see more novel precursors. It could be a lack of creativity on the part of the cooks, or it could be that they just don't
get caught often enough to give us good information on their existence. Or it could be that law enforcement has been so ineffective in controlling
precursors that the labs just haven't needed to get too clever.
Trivia: The DEA appears to catch less than 1% of the drug trade in the US.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_Enforcement_Administratio...
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Most synthetic illegal drugs other than prescription drugs that consumed in the U.S. are manufactured outside the U.S. There is really no shortage of
interested drug manufacturers in the U.S., but they have a much harder time getting a hold of precursors, so they have difficulty competing with
international sources.
A lot of the drug trade does get intercepted, though. I don't know what the half life of drug dealer's career is, but I doubt it is more than five
years.
[Edited on 1-2-2018 by JJay]
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LearnedAmateur
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| Quote: Originally posted by Reboot |
Interesting that they suggest it could be consumed as-is, relying on stomach acid to partially convert it to MDMA in vivo. Probably not practical,
though.
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It wouldn’t be practical for recreational use, being a prodrug it would require some time for the cleavage to fully occur meaning it would take
longer for the effects to come about and likely wouldn’t be as potent since there wouldn’t be as much MDMA in the system - bog standard MDMA would
almost certainly be preferred. Albeit, this phenomenon could easily be exploited in a therapeutic setting, if MDMA were ever to be used medicinally
such as in the treatment of certain mental disorders, then the longer, smoother action of taking an amide would certainly be more beneficial. For
example, compare amphetamine and lisdexamfetamine - the latter being the lysine amide of the former. According to Psychonaut, amphetamine has a
threshold dose of 5-15mg and lasts 6-8 hours, whereas its derivative has a threshold of 10-20mg but lasts in total for up to 14 hours, which in
reality would decrease 2 or 3 daily dosages (with more erratic effects) to just one, that has a lower tolerance gain and addiction/dependence
potential. I’d certainly expect similar behaviour in this context also, opening up more possibilities for various psychoactive treatments if
lawmakers decide to get their heads out of their asses and listen to the experts.
In chemistry, sometimes the solution is the problem.
It’s been a while, but I’m not dead! Updated 7/1/2020. Shout out to Aga, we got along well.
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