Drug Information and Monitoring System, Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
J Psychopharmacol. 2011 Nov;25(11):1543-7. doi: 10.1177/0269881110378370. Epub 2010 Sep 8.
Recently, several reports have indicated instability of the ecstasy market in the Netherlands and other EU countries. In the current study, we demonstrate this instability in the Netherlands, showing a decrease of ecstasy tablets containing 3,4-methylenedioxymetamphetamine (MDMA) by more than 50% in 2009. In addition, we describe a partial replacement of MDMA in tablets sold as ecstasy by a previously unseen substance, mephedrone (or 4-methylmethcathinone). Mephedrone was quantified and ecstasy tablets contained between 96 and 155 mg of this new compound. So far, no studies about mephedrone's effects have been published. For this study, we gathered information on the acute subjective effects of mephedrone from 70 regular ecstasy users. Overall, the majority of users considered the effects enjoyable. Mephedrone seemed to evoke effects similar to other amphetamine type psychostimulants, including MDMA. In contrast to MDMA, however, mephedrone induced strong feelings of craving in most users. If the unstable ecstasy market situation persists, the potential of mephedrone to substitute for MDMA might be substantial. Mephedrone, sold as ecstasy, is therefore likely to be a valid cause for health concern.
最近，有几份报告表明荷兰和其他欧盟国家的摇头丸市场不稳定。在目前的研究中，我们在荷兰证实了这种不稳定性，显示 2009 年含有 3,4-亚甲二氧基甲基苯丙胺（MDMA）的摇头丸减少了 50%以上。此外，我们还描述了一种在作为摇头丸出售的片剂中，MDMA 被一种以前未见过的物质甲卡西酮（或 4-甲基甲卡西酮）部分替代。甲卡西酮被定量，在这些新化合物中，每片摇头丸中含有 96 至 155 毫克。到目前为止，还没有关于甲卡西酮作用的研究发表。在这项研究中，我们从 70 名经常使用摇头丸的人中收集了有关甲卡西酮急性主观作用的信息。总的来说，大多数使用者认为效果令人愉快。甲卡西酮似乎能引起类似于其他苯丙胺类兴奋剂（包括 MDMA）的效果。然而，与 MDMA 不同的是，甲卡西酮在大多数使用者中引起了强烈的渴望感。如果不稳定的摇头丸市场状况持续下去，甲卡西酮取代 MDMA 的潜力可能相当大。因此，作为摇头丸出售的甲卡西酮很可能是一个值得关注的健康问题。
