2024-10-03 09:34:41
The Spanish government has warned in recent months of an increase in the detection in our country of 4-CMC, a psychotropic substance more commonly called clephedrone. To give us an idea, the Executive responded to written request formulated at the Congress of Deputies and in the Annual Situation Report 2023 (ASR) 582 seizures of this compound have been reportedcompared to just 75 reported the previous year.
Already in 2022 the State Police carried out the first large-scale seizure of this drug: as many as 20 kilos in Burgos, as part of an international operation against drug trafficking. Now, the project has installed a checkpoint at a music festival in Barcelona Energy control detected the circulation of said substance among users.
What exactly is clephedrone?
Clephedrone is the common name for the molecule 4-CMC or 4-chloromethcathinone. It’s a stimulating substance from the cathinone familywith stimulating and empathogenic properties (that is, it generates feelings of emotional connection), as reported Energy control.
So, orally its subjective effects would be similar to those of other drugs in the family and resemble those of MDMA or ecstasy: euphoria, increased energy, greater sociability and sexuality, visual and auditory hallucinations.
On the contrary, and although there is not yet much information available on the subject, it is logical to think that acute adverse effects (after specific administrations) they could be analogous to those of other cathinones or phenethylamine stimulants: insomnia, anxiety, rapid heartbeat, increased blood pressure, peripheral vasoconstriction, bruxism, dilation of the pupils (mydriasis), profuse sweating, increased body temperature…
Possible fatal cases, psychosis, anxiety…
It should be noted that cases of death have been documented in which the presence of 4-CMC was detected in the biological materials of the deceased (sometimes in relatively high concentrations), as stated in a WHO review report published in 2019.
Similarly, in the scientific literature the clephedrone poisoning It has been associated with panic attacks, aggression, agitation, psychotic symptoms, hallucinations and lack of sleep. In up to 15 non-fatal forensic cases where the presence of the substance was verified, adverse effects such as mydriasis, lack of pupillary reflex, inarticulate speech, agitation, increased energy, tachycardia, difficulty walking, difficulty picking up were found objects off the ground, lack of balance, space-time disorientation, dizziness, verbosity and slow response.
Of course, both in reported deaths and in most cases, 4-CMC it has been found in combination with other substancesso scientists caution that it may be difficult to determine which of the adverse effects are attributable to clephedrone and which result from other drugs or their combination. In the only reported case of poisoning with 4-CMC alone, associated effects were agitation, expressions of joy, increased energy, tachycardia, mydriasis, and difficulty picking up objects from the ground.
Possible long-term toxic effects
As for the long-term effects and impact of chronic drinking, for now we have very little evidence due to the relatively recent discovery of the substance and the fact that its implementation on the black market is still in its early stages.
In any case, the most worrying indication in this regard is found in a 2020 study published in specialized media Neurotoxicity research. According to this article, which reports experiments on mice and cell cultures, clephedrone shows a neurotoxicity (nerve cell toxicity) which may cause long-term adverse effects.
Taking into account the lack of reliable information in this regard and the worrying nature of the few reports we have, as for other substances, consumption can only be discouraged. Ultimately, the Mixing with other substances could be particularly dangerous; and without losing sight of the fact that 4-CMC has sometimes been detected in samples that users had acquired thinking they were other drugs, the ideal is to act with the utmost caution and try to carry out tests (many festivals install is for this purpose) to samples of any substance to maximize safety.
References
Undersecretary of State for Relations with the Courts and Constitutional Affairs (2024). Government response – (184) Congressional written question 184/10032, 184/10035, 184710813. Consulted online at on October 3, 2024.
Energy control (2023). 4-CMC in MDMA crystal. Consulted online at on October 3, 2024.
Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (2019). Critical review report: 4-CMC (4-chloromethcation). Consulted online at https://ecddrepository.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/final_4-cmc.pdf on October 3, 2024.
Wojcieszak J, Kuczyńska K, Zawilska JB. Four synthetic cathinones: 3-chloromethcathinone, 4-chloromethcathinone, 4-fluoro-α-pyrrolidinopentiophenone, and 4-methoxy-α-pyrrolidinopentiophenone produce changes in spontaneous locomotor activity and motor performance in mice with varied profiles. Neurotoxicity Research (2020). DOI: 10.1007/s12640-020-00227-8.
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