5F-ADB (also known as MDMB-5F-PINACA[2] and 5F-MDMB-PINACA) is an indazole-based synthetic cannabinoid from the indazole-3-carboxamide family, which has been used as an active ingredient in synthetic cannabis products and has been sold online as a designer drug.[3][4] 5F-ADB is a potent agonist of the CB1 receptor,[5] though it is unclear whether it is selective for this target. 5F-ADB was first identified in November 2014 from post-mortem samples taken from an individual who had died after using a product containing this substance. Subsequent testing identified 5F-ADB to have been present in a total of ten people who had died from unexplained drug overdoses in Japan between September 2014 and December 2014. 5F-ADB is believed to be extremely potent based on the very low levels detected in tissue samples, and appears to be significantly more toxic than earlier synthetic cannabinoid drugs that had previously been sold.[6]
In 2018, 5F-ADB was the most common synthetic cannabinoid to be identified in Drug Enforcement Administration seizures.[7] 5F-ADB was also identified in cannabidiol (CBD) products from a US-based CBD manufacturer in 2018.[8]
Deaths
5F-MDMB-PINACA has been associated with 25 deaths in Europe between 2015 and 2017.[9]
^Pulver B, Fischmann S, Gallegos A, Christie R (March 2023). "EMCDDA framework and practical guidance for naming synthetic cannabinoids". Drug Testing and Analysis. 15 (3): 255–276. doi:10.1002/dta.3403. PMID36346325.
^Shevyrin V, Melkozerov V, Nevero A, Eltsov O, Shafran Y, Morzherin Y, et al. (August 2015). "Identification and analytical characteristics of synthetic cannabinoids with an indazole-3-carboxamide structure bearing a N-1-methoxycarbonylalkyl group". Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. 407 (21): 6301–6315. doi:10.1007/s00216-015-8612-7. PMID25893797. S2CID31838655.
^Banister SD, Longworth M, Kevin R, Sachdev S, Santiago M, Stuart J, et al. (September 2016). "Pharmacology of Valinate and tert-Leucinate Synthetic Cannabinoids 5F-AMBICA, 5F-AMB, 5F-ADB, AMB-FUBINACA, MDMB-FUBINACA, MDMB-CHMICA, and Their Analogues". ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 7 (9): 1241–1254. doi:10.1021/acschemneuro.6b00137. PMID27421060.
^asegawa K, Wurita A, Minakata K, Gonmori K, Yamagishi I, Nozawa H, et al. (2014). "Identification and quantitation of 5-fluoro-ADB, one of the most dangerous synthetic cannabinoids, in the stomach contents and solid tissues of a human cadaver and in some herbal products". Forensic Toxicology. 33: 112–121. doi:10.1007/s11419-014-0259-0. S2CID45508189.