Current Situation and Issues for Analyzing Illegal Drug Products

Thirty-two psychotropic substances (31 compounds and one plant) have been controlled as designated substances (Shitei-yakubutsu) in Japan by the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law since April 2007. Although the trafficking of these drugs has decreased because of this regulation, new designer drugs (synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones) have appeared, one after the other. As of October 2011, 40 compounds had been newly added to this category. Analytical methods have become more complicated due to this increase in the number of designated substances. Moreover, many reference substances for such designated substances and other new designer drugs are not commercially available. For the reasons stated above, a lot of time and effort is required to analyze the illegal drug products available on the market.