Sponsored by La Jolla Alcohol Research, Inc.

The use of novel cathinone analogs, popularly referred to as ‘bath salts,’ has emerged as a substance abuse problem in the US in recent years. These substances are produced and distributed by clandestine markets in an attempt to circumvent their status as illegal substances. New synthetic cathinones that differ slightly in chemical structure and pharmacology from previous analogs, continue to show up in confiscated samples at an alarming rate. Synthetic cathinones share many of the neurochemical effects of psychomotor stimulants such as methamphetamine, cocaine, or MDMA, but differ on a range of behavioral and physiological endpoints.