Mephedrone - An Emerging Drug of Abuse in India

Abstract

Mephedrone (MEPH) is a synthetic derivative of cathinone, an alkaloid extracted from plant khat. Developed countries like UK, USA, Australia and Israel are the main places of MEPH abuse. Abuse of cathinone and MEPH in India has started recently. The young generation in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Panaji is being affected by its abuse. The increasing misuse of MEPH in India was due to its non-inclusion in the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 earlier. Due to the threat of MEPH abuse in the country, the Government of India included it in the NDPS Act from February 2015. Since then, the law enforcement agencies have taken strict action against MEPH users and traffickers. In India, new drugs are rapidly emerging in the market and posing challenges for forensic toxicologists and law enforcement agencies. The seized drugs, urine and blood samples of the abusers are sent to forensic science laboratories for analysis. These samples are first screened by thin-layer chromatography, and then the confirmation and quantitation are done using modern instrumental methods. However, no studies are available in the literature on drug detection in saliva, sweat and other biological materials. Therefore a suitable technique needs to be developed for its detection in biological matrices. Particularly so for a country like India, this drug abuse is constantly increasing. In this article, we deal with the chemistry, pharmodynamics, drug-herb interaction, metabolic fate (pharmokinetics), related fatalities, abuse, effects and detection methods of MEPH, to create awareness about this drug abuse in India.