Drug testing and analysis
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This paper summarizes the most probable of the adverse health effects of regular cannabis use sustained over years, as indicated by epidemiological studies that have established an association between cannabis use and adverse outcomes; ruled out reverse causation; and controlled for plausible alternative explanations. We have also focused on adverse outcomes for which there is good evidence of biological plausibility. The focus is on those adverse health effects of greatest potential public health significance--those that are most likely to occur and to affect a substantial proportion of regular cannabis users. These most probable adverse effects of regular use include a dependence syndrome, impaired respiratory function, cardiovascular disease, adverse effects on adolescent psychosocial development and mental health, and residual cognitive impairment.
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Drug testing and analysis · Nov 2013
Review Meta AnalysisMeta-analysis: Effects of glycerol administration on plasma volume, haemoglobin, and haematocrit.
The use of glycerol in combination with excess fluid can be used to increase total body water. Because glycerol hyperhydration may also be misused to mask the effects of blood doping on doping-relevant parameters, namely haemoglobin and haematocrit, glycerol has been prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2010. In order to test this rationale, the purpose of this meta-analysis was to quantify the effects of glycerol hyperhydration on plasma volume, haemoglobin, and haematocrit in comparison to administration of fluid only. ⋯ The meta-analysis revealed that the increase in plasma volume was 3.3% larger (95%-CI: 1.1-5.5%) after glycerol administration when compared to fluid only. Reductions in haemoglobin were 0.2 g/dl (95%-CI: -0.3, 0.0) larger and there was no difference in the changes in haematocrit between glycerol and fluid administration (95%-CI: -0.7-0.8%). In comparison with other plasma-volume expanding agents, glycerol hyperhydration has a very limited potential in increasing plasma volume and altering doping-relevant blood parameters.
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Drug testing and analysis · Aug 2013
Analytical characterization of three hallucinogenic N-(2-methoxy)benzyl derivatives of the 2C-series of phenethylamine drugs.
This publication reports analytical properties of three new hallucinogenic substances identified in blotter papers seized from the drug market, namely 25D-NBOMe [2-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine], 25E-NBOMe [2-(4-ethyl-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine] and 25G-NBOMe [2-(2,5-dimethoxy-3,4-dimethylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine]. These substances are N-(2-methoxy)benzyl derivatives of the 2C-series of phenethylamine drugs. The applied procedure covered a variety of analytical methods, including gas chromatography with electron impact mass spectrometry (GC-EI-MS; without derivatization and after derivatization with trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFAA)), liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-QTOF-MS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), which made it possible to identify the active components unequivocally. ⋯ The tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) experiments confirmed that the studied substances were N-(2-methoxy)benzyl derivatives of the 2C-series compounds. Final elucidation of the structures was performed by NMR spectroscopy. The substances were also characterized by FTIR spectroscopy to corroborate the identity of the compounds.