Abstract
A number of illegal drug tablets with unknown constituents are supplied to countries around the world, most of which are habit forming. Amphetamine constitutes the majority of illegal tablets supplied to Saudi Arabia. In this study, we investigated illicit amphetamine tablets seized from Jazan region located in the southwest of Saudi Arabia to identify the insidious additives present in them and their health-related risks. Tablets were analyzed for the presence of amphetamine and other additives using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) technique. Amphetamine was detected in good to high area % values in all analyzed tablets in the range of 16.29–41.23%. Interestingly, a number of other additives were also detected with amphetamine in most of the tested samples including caffeine, lidocaine, diphenhydramine, and 8-chlorotheophylline in considerable area %. Caffeine may have been added to enhance the psychotic effect of amphetamine, whereas lidocaine was added to prevent the cardiovascular side effects of amphetamine. Diphenhydramine was probably added to prevent other undesirable side effects of amphetamine such as insomnia and tremors. Chemometric hierarchical cluster analysis was carried out to make samples clusters which have similar characteristics. It resulted into a dendrogram tree showing eight clusters signifying different sources of tablet samples. Owing to the toxic effects of amphetamine and other psychoactive constituents in the tested tablets, the illegal trafficking of these tablets should be prevented by all means and public awareness should be increased.
Highlights
Amphetamine is the psychostimulant drug that had been indicated clinically for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Instead of religious and legal prohibitions in Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, the use of narcotic substances is prevalent [4]. It was estimated in 2019 that around 7-8% of Saudis are drug users and 70% among them are of age 12–22 years [5, 6]. The accuracy of this data is not clear and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) suggests that this data may be underestimated owing to the higher number of seizures in these areas. e social stigma and fear of disclosure associated with the use of these substances further decrease the numbers
limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantification (LOQ). e calibration curve was plotted by analyzing five increasing concentrations of amphetamine standard solutions and the linearity was observed by calculating the correlation coefficient (R2) value of the plot. e method showed a good linearity over the tested range as the R2 value was calculated to be 0.997. e equation for linear regression was attained to be y 0.182x − 0.5443
Summary
Amphetamine is the psychostimulant drug that had been indicated clinically for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is no longer used clinically due to its addictive and other adverse effects. Instead of religious and legal prohibitions in Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, the use of narcotic substances is prevalent [4]. It was estimated in 2019 that around 7-8% of Saudis are drug users and 70% among them are of age 12–22 years [5, 6]. It was estimated that more than 50% of the total global interception of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) is reported from the Arabian Peninsula [7]
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