New cannabis alarms health authorities

Cannabis which circulates illegally in France is evolving and synthetic drugs continue to develop. Now, the molecule causing the psychotropic effects is showing deleterious effects for consumers. Several regional health agencies are sounding the alarm.

THC or tetrahydrocannabinol is one of the main active molecules in cannabis. It is a cannabinoid. It is estimated that a “joint” contains 2 to 20 mg of THC and when inhaled 15-20% of the THC in smoke passes into the blood. Cannabis “Is by far the most consumed illicit substance in France. In 2017, 44.8% of adults aged 18 to 64 said they had used cannabis in their lifetime “ report theFrench Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction(OFDT). But the health authorities draw up an even more worrying observation. According to The world, the molecule at the origin of the psychotropic effects, was present at levels between 6 and 8% at the beginning of the years 2000 according to the figures of the national service of the technical and scientific police (PTS). Today, the average THC level in cannabis resin has tripled. In 2019, THC concentration peaked at 28%. In other forms, it even happens that this rate climbs to 90%, underlines on a daily basis a legal expert, in narcotics, engineer and head of the narcotics section of the forensic laboratory in Lyon.

Drug users are also fond of synthetic products. Synthetic molecules have the particularity of amplifying and mimicking the effects of certain illicit products. “These are substances which, for much lower doses, are much stronger. It is cannabis power 100 “, explains to the media Le Monde, the doctor Joëlle Micallef, president of the French network of addictovigilance and director of the Paca center. This is notably the case of the MDMB-4en-Pinaca molecule created by clandestine laboratories most often. The goal of this artificial molecule? to reproduce the effects of THC. This synthetic cannabinoid comes in the form of powder, the latter can be inhaled or vaporized on plant residues to fuel the psychotropic power of the drug . A synthetic molecule such as MDMB-4en-Pinaca can have devastating effects for consumers, who see this product being added without them knowing it (thinking they have bought classic cannabis). Marseille addictovigilance center and ARS Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) reported various symptoms in clients: sweat, fever, dizziness and tremors, nausea, even vomiting. These can be even more dramatic: aggression, bad trip, tachycardia, or even, in the most severe cases, stroke and death.

Over the past two years, the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction has recorded twelve deaths linked to the consumption of the MDMB-4en-Pinaca molecule in Hungary, the United Kingdom and Sweden. In France, this synthetic drug was reported in 21 collections of samples in 8 regions (Paca, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Brittany, Burgundy, in the Center, Hauts-de-France or in Île-de-France). According to Dr. Joëlle Micallef, the distribution of this product remains difficult to gauge. “when we have five cases, it is because in reality we have five hundred”. She also adds that “the evolutionary trend. When we see that the cases are increasing, that the product arrives in different regions, that it reaches all types of public, it is more important than a number. For us, nothing is missing to make a national awareness on the subject “.