Research paper
The impact of changes in UK classification of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists in ‘Spice’

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Abstract

Background

Spice is the iconic brand name of a smokeable herbal mixture containing synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists. It has been available on the Internet/in head shops in Europe since at least 2006. The synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist constituents of Spice were classified in the UK as Class B agents in December 2009. This study assessed the impact of this legislation on the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists present in Spice products and whether new synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists outside of the legislation are now available.

Methods

Spice products were bought, prior to and after the change in the UK legislation, from a range of Internet legal high websites selling to UK consumers. Products were analysed using liquid chromatography high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LCMSMS). Identification of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist(s) detected was made by comparison to existing databases or by ‘in silico’ methods.

Results

Sixteen products were purchased prior to the UK control of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists; all contained at least one synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist. 20 products were purchased after the UK control; no active compounds were detected in 3 (15%). The remaining 17 (85%) all contained at least one classified synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist. Additionally, 2 synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists not covered under current UK generic legislation (AM-694 and the ‘novel Belarus compound’) were detected.

Conclusion

Despite the UK ‘Spice’ classification, classified synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists continue to be supplied over the Internet to UK users. Furthermore, new synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists not covered by the legislation are appearing. Consideration needs to be given to reviewing the UK legislation so that suppliers cannot circumvent it by supplying legal alternatives to the classified synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists.

Introduction

Spice is the iconic brand name of a smokeable herbal mixture containing synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists that has been available on the Internet and in head shops in Europe since at least 2006 (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drugs Addiction, 2009). The term “Spice” is now in common use as a proprietary eponym to describe this class of products. The labels on many of the products declare the contents to be herbs that are reputed to have mild effects similar to cannabis but they do not mention the added synthetic compounds. The synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists are sprayed in a liquid solution onto a mixture of “smokeable herbs”, which are then dried before packaging and sale to users. This mixture, which usually contains one or more synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists, is then typically smoked, similar to the smoking of cannabis. Users report that smoking “Spice” is associated with similar effects to smoking cannabis, although it is thought that some of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists have greater potency than Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (Auwärter et al., 2009, Erowid, 2010). A number of animal and in vitro models have investigated the mechanisms of action and the relative potency of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists; in particular JWH-018, CP47,497 and HU-210 have been the most extensively studied (Vardakou, Pistos, & Spiliopoulou, 2010). Currently although the majority of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists studied have shown greater potency in animal models compared to THC, there is limited data from human volunteer studies on the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles of the individual agonists.

Numerous synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists have been found in Spice products, these can be divided into the JWH, CB and HU groups (Vardakou et al., 2010). Previous studies have looked at the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists present in Spice products and have identified several different synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (Auwärter et al., 2009, EMCDDA, 2009, Hudson et al., 2010). JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-398, JWH-250, HU-210 and CP47,497 and its homologues appear to be amongst the most commonly detected synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (Auwärter et al., 2009, EMCDDA, 2009, Hudson et al., 2010). These are found in variable proportions in different Spice products; in addition there are many other as yet poorly characterised synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists that have been detected (Hudson et al., 2010).

The synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist constituents of Spice were classified in the UK as Class B agents under the UK Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in December 2009 (UK Statutory Instrument, 2009). The maximum penalty for possession of a Class B substance in the UK is an unlimited fine and/or up to five years in prison and for “dealing” is an unlimited fine and/or up to fourteen years in prison. This legislation controlled synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (“synthetic cannabinoids”) that were known at this time using both specific and generic definitions with the intention that control would capture a range of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists and therefore both current and future foreseeable trends.

The control of Spice is not limited to the UK. Within the European Union, in addition to the UK, ‘Spice’ and/or some of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists are controlled in a number of other countries including Denmark, Germany, Estonia, France, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland, Romania, Sweden and UK (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 2010). Additionally, there has been some limited control of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists in the US, with five of the individual synthetic cannabinoids being controlled under Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act (Drug Enforcement Administration, US Department of Justice, 2010).

No studies have assessed the impact of this legislation on the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists present in Spice products and whether new synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists outside of the specific and generic legislation are now available. The aim of this study was to address these issues.

Section snippets

Methods

Spice products were bought from a range of Internet legal high websites selling these products to UK consumers. Products were purchased from the same websites prior to and after the legislation and, where possible, the same products were purchased, or if this was not available a product with a similar name was purchased. This methodology for purchasing Internet legal highs has been used in similar previous studies (Brandt et al., 2010a, Brandt et al., 2010b, Davies et al., 2010, Ramsey et al.,

Results

Sixteen products were purchased prior to and 20 after the UK control of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists. The synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists detected in these products and the frequencies of detection are shown in Table 1. This demonstrates that a range of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists were detected both before and after the legislation. In total there were 9 different synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists detected in the pre-legislation purchases. Eight of these and

Discussion

We have shown in this study that Spice products available over the Internet in the UK after the control of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists continue to contain classified compounds. Possession of these Spice products would therefore be illegal under UK law. In addition to the legal consequences, our study shows that the products contain synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists, with the inherent risk of acute toxicity/harm associated with their use (Vardakou et al., 2010). There has been

Conflict of interest

PD and DW have acted as expert advisers to the UK Home Office Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).

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