News
21-June 2010 –
LGC
Standards independently characterises and develops
reference material for MDAI - a new ‘legal
high’
LGC Standards provides chemical
reference material for a new ‘legal high’
-
MDAI
LGC
Standards, Europe’s leading supplier of reference materials,
has characterised and made available a reference standard to assist
forensic, clinical and toxicology laboratories to identify and
quantify the newly emerged ‘legal high’ known as MDAI.
MDAI, or Methylenedioxyaminoindane, emerged on the market in
late 2009 and is yet another ‘designer’ version of a controlled
drug of the amphetamine and Ecstasy type. Very little is currently
known about MDAI’s toxicity and its novel structure means that it
is unlikely to be covered by existing drug control legislation.
LGC Standards independently developed the reference standard for
MDAI over a period of eight weeks.
Ric Treble, Scientific Advisor at LGC commented: “The speed
at which LGC Standards has been able to purify and characterise the
active ingredient and then produce the reference standard is
impressive. This means that laboratories throughout Europe have
access to a reliable reference material very soon after the drug
became available. Naphyrone is another legal high which is starting
to emerge and for this, LGC Standards is also currently in the
process of producing a reference standard”.
Such drugs are primarily marketed via internet websites, so the
volume of sales is hard to estimate, but reports indicate rapidly
increasing use of ‘legal highs’, particularly among younger
people.
For further information on the MDAI reference standard and other
available products, please contact LGC Standards by email: askus@lgcstandards.com or tel:
+44 (0)20 8943 8480.
Further information on legal highs can be found at: http://www.talktofrank.com/drugs.aspx?id=3597
-Ends-
Notes to
editors