From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chemical compound
W-18 is a compound in a series of 32 substances (named W-1 to W-32) that were first synthesized in academic research on
analgesic
drug discovery in the 1980s and appeared as a
designer drug in the 2010s.
W-18 was invented at the
University of Alberta by a lab working on
analgesic
drug discovery in the 1980s, and preliminary studies in animals showed it had pain-killing activity in mice.
[1]
[2]
The chemical was detected in connection with recreational drug use as substitute for other
controlled substances in Europe in 2013,
[3] and in the United States.
[4] In Canada,
Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) seized four kilograms of W-18 in a drug bust in
Edmonton in December 2015
[5] and W-18 was also detected by
Health Canada in at least three of 110
fentanyl tablets seized from a
Calgary home in August 2015.
[6]
[4]
W-18 was commonly reported to be an
opioid in the popular press in the 2010s, which was later revealed not to be correct.
[7]
[8]
[9] W-18 was found to obtain weak activity at both
sigma receptors and the
translocator protein (peripheral benzodiazepine receptor).
[9] It also inhibits the
hERG potassium channel with micromolar affinity, which could potentially cause cardiac arrhythmia at high doses.
[10]
In Sweden, W-18 was made illegal in January 2016.
[11]
In Canada, W-18 and its analogues were made Schedule I controlled substances.
[12] Possession without legal authority can result in maximum 7 years imprisonment. Further,
Health Canada amended the Food and Drug Regulations in May, 2016 to classify W-18 as a restricted drug. Only those with a law enforcement agency, person with an exemption permit or institutions with Minister's authorization may possess the drug.
See also
References
^ Kroll D (30 April 2016).
"W-18, The High-Potency Research Chemical Making News: What It Is And What It Isn't" . Forbes .
^ Warnica M (21 April 2016).
"Street drug W-18 is highly lethal, and still legal" . CBC News. Retrieved 20 April 2016 .
^ Gonçalves J (13 February 2016).
"Notice to interested parties — Proposal regarding the scheduling of W-18 under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and its regulations" . Canada Gazette . 150 (7). Government of Canada. Retrieved 19 February 2016 .
^
a
b Markusoff J.
"A toxic drug, more powerful than fentanyl, hits the streets in Alberta" . macleans.ca . Maclean's. Retrieved 19 February 2016 .
^
"Illicit drug W-18 is 100 times stronger than fentanyl, police warn" . CBC News . 20 April 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2016 .
^ Elkin A (1 February 2016).
"Everything We Know So Far About W-18, the Drug That's 100 Times More Powerful Than Fentanyl" . Vice.com . Vice Media. Retrieved 20 April 2016 .
^ Southwick R (1 June 2016).
"Health Canada statements on W-18 misleading, potentially wrong, experts warn" . Calgary Herald . Postmedia Network Inc. Retrieved 22 June 2016 .
^ Browne R (2 June 2016).
"Canada's Ban on Ultra-Potent Drug W-18 Could Make Things Worse" . Vice.
^
a
b Huang XP, Che T, Mangano TJ, Le Rouzic V, Pan YX, Majumdar S, et al. (November 2017).
"Fentanyl-related designer drugs W-18 and W-15 lack appreciable opioid activity in vitro and in vivo" . JCI Insight . 2 (22).
doi :
10.1172/jci.insight.97222 .
PMC
5752382 .
PMID
29202454 .
^ Huang XP, Che T, Mangano TJ, Le Rouzic V, Pan YX, Majumdar S, et al. (2016-07-24).
"Pharmacology of W-18 and W-15" . bioRxiv : 065623.
doi :
10.1101/065623 .
^
"31 nya ämnen kan klassas som narkotika eller hälsofarlig vara" (in Swedish). Folkhälsomyndigheten. November 2015.
^ Arsenault D (1 June 2016).
"Regulations Amending the Food and Drug Regulations (Parts G and J — Lefetamine, AH-7921, MT-45 and W-18)" . Canada Gazette . 150 (11). Government of Canada.
Calcium
VDCCs Tooltip Voltage-dependent calcium channels
Potassium
VGKCs Tooltip Voltage-gated potassium channels
IRKs Tooltip Inwardly rectifying potassium channel
KCa Tooltip Calcium-activated potassium channel
K2Ps Tooltip Tandem pore domain potassium channel
Sodium
VGSCs Tooltip Voltage-gated sodium channels
ENaC Tooltip Epithelial sodium channel
ASICs Tooltip Acid-sensing ion channel
Chloride
CaCCs Tooltip Calcium-activated chloride channel
CFTR Tooltip Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator
Unsorted
Others
TRPs Tooltip Transient receptor potential channels
LGICs Tooltip Ligand gated ion channels