Schedules of Controlled Substances: Temporary Placement of N-Ethylpentylone in Schedule I. Temporary amendment; temporary scheduling order

The Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is issuing this temporary scheduling order to schedule the synthetic cathinone, 1- (1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-2-(ethylamino)- pentan-1-one (N-ethylpentylone, ephylone) and its optical, positional, and geometric isomers, salts, and salts of isomers in schedule I. This action is based on a finding by the Acting Administrator that the placement of Nethylpentylone in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) is necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to the public safety. As a result of this order, the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances will be imposed on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis, or possess), or propose to handle N-ethylpentylone.

Schedules of Controlled Substances: Placement of Three Synthetic Phenethylamines Into Schedule I. Final rule

With the issuance of this final rule, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration places three synthetic phenethylamines: 2-(4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine (25I-NBOMe; 2C-I-NBOMe; 25I; Cimbi-5), 2-(4-chloro-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N- (2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine (25C-NBOMe; 2C-C-NBOMe; 25C; Cimbi-82), and 2-(4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine (25B- NBOMe; 2C-B-NBOMe; 25B; Cimbi-36), including their optical, positional, and geometric isomers, salts and salts of isomers, whenever the existence of such salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible, into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. This scheduling action is pursuant to the Controlled Substances Act which requires that such actions be made on the record after opportunity for a hearing through formal rulemaking. This action continues the application of the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, reverse distribute, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities or chemical analysis, or possess), or propose to handle 25I-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe, or 25B-NBOMe.

Schedules of Controlled Substances: Extension of Temporary Placement of Three Synthetic Phenethylamines in Schedule I. Final order

The Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration is issuing this final order extending the temporary schedule I status for three synthetic phenethylamines into the Controlled Substances Act pursuant to the temporary scheduling provisions of the Act. The substances are: 2-(4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine (25I-NBOMe; 2C-I-NBOMe; 25I; Cimbi-5), 2-(4-chloro-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine (25C-NBOMe; 2C-C-NBOMe; 25C; Cimbi-82), and 2-(4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine (25B-NBOMe; 2C-B-NBOMe; 25B; Cimbi-36) [hereinafter 25I-NBOMe, 2C-NBOMe, and 25-NBOMe, respectively]. The initial temporary scheduling was based on a finding by the Deputy Administrator that the placement of these synthetic phenethylamines and their optical, positional, and geometric isomers, salts, and salts of isomers into schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act is necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to the public safety. The current final order temporarily placing 25I-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe, and 25B-NBOMe in schedule I is due to expire on November 14, 2015. This final order will extend the temporary scheduling of 25I-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe, and 25B-NBOMe for one year, or until the permanent scheduling action for these three substances is completed, whichever occurs first. As a result of this order, the full effect of the Controlled Substances Act and its implementing regulations, including criminal, civil and administrative penalties, sanctions, and regulatory controls of schedule I substances will be imposed on the manufacture, distribution, possession, importation, and exportation of these synthetic phenethylamines.

Schedules of controlled substances: temporary placement of three synthetic phenethylamines into Schedule I. Final order

The Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is issuing this final order to temporarily schedule three synthetic phenethylamines into the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) pursuant to the temporary scheduling provisions of 21 U.S.C. 811(h). The substances are 2-(4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine (25I-NBOMe; 2C-I-NBOMe; 25I; Cimbi-5), 2-(4-chloro-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine (25C-NBOMe; 2C-C-NBOMe; 25C; Cimbi-82), and 2-(4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine (25B-NBOMe; 2C-B-NBOMe; 25B; Cimbi-36) [hereinafter 25I-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe, and 25B-NBOMe]. This action is based on a finding by the Deputy Administrator that the placement of these synthetic phenethylamines and their optical, positional, and geometric isomers, salts and salts of isomers in schedule I of the CSA is necessary to avoid an imminent hazard to the public safety. As a result of this order, the regulatory controls and administrative, civil, and criminal sanctions applicable to schedule I controlled substances will be imposed on persons who handle (manufacture, distribute, dispense, import, export, engage in research, conduct instructional activities, and possess), or propose to handle these synthetic phenethylamines.

Establishment of drug codes for 26 substances. Final rule

On July 9, 2012, the President signed into law the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 (SDAPA). SDAPA amends the Controlled Substances Act by placing 26 substances in Schedule I. DEA is publishing this rule to establish drug codes for these 26 substances, and to make technical and conforming amendments in accordance with SDAPA.

Schedules of controlled substances; placement of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylthiophenethylamine and N-benzylpiperazine into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Final rule

This final rulemaking is issued by the Acting Deputy Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to place 2,5-dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylthiophenethylamine (2C-T-7) and N-benzylpiperazine (BZP) into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). This action by the DEA Acting Deputy Administrator is based on a scheduling recommendation by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and a DEA review indicating that 2C-T-7 and BZP meet the criteria for placement in Schedule I of the CSA. This final rule will continue to impose the regulatory controls and criminal sanctions of Schedule I substances on the manufacture, distribution, and possession of 2C-T-7 and BZP.

4-Bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (2C-B) and structurally related phenylethylamines are potent 5-HT2A receptor antagonists in Xenopus laevis oocytes

1. We recently described that several 2-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-substituted phenyl)ethylamines (PEAs), including 4-I=2C-I, 4-Br=2C-B, and 4-CH(3)=2C-D analogs, are partial agonists at 5-HT(2C) receptors, and show low or even negligible intrinsic efficacy at 5-HT(2A) receptors. These results raised the proposal that these drugs may act as 5-HT(2) antagonists. 2. To test this hypothesis, Xenopus laevis oocytes were microinjected with the rat clones for 5-HT(2A) or 5-HT(2C) receptors. The above-mentioned PEAs and its 4-H analog (2C-H) blocked the 5-HT-induced currents at 5-HT(2A), but not at the 5-HT(2C) receptor, revealing 5-HT(2) receptor subtype selectivity. The 5-HT(2A) receptor antagonism required a 2-min preincubation to attain maximum inhibition. 3. All PEAs tested shifted the 5-HT concentration-response curves to the right and downward. Their potencies varied with the nature of the C(4) substituent; the relative rank order of their 5-HT(2A) receptor antagonist potency was 2C-I>2C-B>2C-D>2C-H. 4. The present results demonstrate that in X. laevis oocytes, a series of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-substituted PEAs blocked the 5-HT(2A) but not the 5-HT(2C) receptor-mediated responses. As an alternative hypothesis, we suggest that the psychostimulant activity of the PEAs may not be exclusively associated with partial or full 5-HT(2A) receptor agonism.

Vascular effects of class-III antiarrhythmic drugs: chromanol 293B, but not dofetilide blocks the smooth muscle delayed rectifier K+ channel

Chromanol 293B and dofetilide are inhibitors of IKs and IKr, i.e., of the slow and the rapid component of the delayed rectifier potassium current. The specificity of these drugs was tested by investigating their effects on the delayed rectifier potassium current in vascular smooth muscle, regulating the tone of blood vessels. Using depolarizing step protocols with asymmetrical potassium concentrations (135/4.5 mM K+ in pipette/bath), voltage-dependent K+ currents (IKv) of enzymatically dispersed guinea pig portal vein cells were studied in the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Peak currents were obtained within 20 ms (at +50 mV) after activation. During a 10 s test pulse to +60 mV, these currents exhibited a relatively fast inactivation with time constants of 384 ms (Tfast) and 4505 ms (Tslow). Dofetilide was totally ineffective in modulating currents; in contrast, after application of chromanol 293B, a steady-state block of IKv developed within 135 s. The block was concentration-dependent with an IC50 of 7.4 microM. Chromanol did not produce any shift in the normalized steady-state activation and inactivation curves and the recovery from inactivation was not significantly changed. Chromanol 293B similarly inhibited delayed rectifier K+ channels whether in their closed or open state, and produced an "apparent" acceleration of inactivation, i.e., the drug accelerated the faster time constant of inactivation during a 10 s test pulse from 384 ms (control) to 149 ms (100 microM chromanol). In recent studies, chromanol was described as a specific blocker of slowly activating delayed rectifier potassium channels (IKs) in cardiomyocytes. The results of this study, however, extend the inhibitory spectrum of the drug and demonstrate block of closed and open state delayed rectifier K+ currents in portal vein vascular smooth muscle. Such a block could possibly contribute to the generation of portal hypertension.

[New anti-arrhythmia agents]

Use of class-I antiarrhythmic agents (encainide, flecainide or moricizine) to suppress asymptomatic ventricular premature depolarizations does not decrease, but rather increases mortality from cardiac events after myocardial infarction. These patients should not be treated with antiarrhythmic drugs until improved survival is shown in a controlled clinical trial. In other clinical conditions such as symptomatic tachyarrhythmias class-I agents should only be used if the expected benefit outweighs the risk of an adverse cardiac effect. The development of new class-I drugs does not seem promising. Esmolol is the first intravenous and ultrashort-acting beta-adrenoceptor blocker that can be used to treat supraventricular arrhythmias in the critical care setting; in addition, it displays high cardioselectivity. Specific class-III antiarrhythmic agents including sematilide and dofetilide have been shown to be effective against ventricular tachyarrythmias in preclinical studies, but their clinical value remains to be established. Torsades de pointes arrhythmia is an undesirable side-effect closely coupled to specific class-III action that may limit their future use. The known pharmacological profiles and limited controlled clinical studies make amiodarone and sotalol promising candidates for drugs that may improve survival of patients at risk for sudden cardiac death.