NRG-1 (Naphthylpyrovalerone)
Street names
NRG-1, Energy-1, Energy-1 and Rave
General Information
Naphyrone is a stimulant drug. It is closely related to ‘cathinone derivatives,’ including Mephedrone. These are a group of drugs that are cousins of the family of amphetamine compounds. It is an off white / yellow powder which is usually snorted (like Cocaine) or swallowed (‘bombed’) in wraps of paper. If the drug is snorted – a razor blade will be used to chop it into lines on a hard level surface such as a mirror or a sheet of glass or tile.
Effects
There is little evidence of its long term effects or the risks of taking it
NRG-1 is known to induce euphoria, talkativeness, alertness and feelings of empathy
Increased body temperature, short attention span, jaw clenching.
Risks:
Anxiety, paranoia and suicidal tendencies
NRG-1 can cause overstimulation of the heart and circulatory system and over excitation of the nervous system
Hyperthermia and high blood pressure
Use of NRG-1 can lead to fits
This drug also reduces inhibitions and can induce drowsiness, coma, seizures and insomnia
Death. The risk of death could be increased if used with other substances including alcohol.
Class
: Class B
Naphyrone emerged as a new legal high in the United Kingdom only months after the ban of similar drug mephedrone (which was also a cathinone derivative). Until July 2010 the substance was not controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and was therefore not illegal for someone to possess. The Medicines Act prevented naphyrone from being sold for human consumption, and therefore it was sometimes sold as 'pond cleaner' or as another substance not normally consumed by humans.[citation needed]
A study by researchers at Liverpool John Moores University found that only one out of ten products labelled as "NRG-1" actually contained naphyrone when they were subjected to laboratory analysis. Compounds found in products labelled NRG-1 included MDPV, flephedrone, mephedrone, butylone and caffeine, one product tested was inorganic in composition.[7] In the case of an individual possessing a product labelled NRG-1 that contains MDPV or other illegal substances, they are in possession of a controlled substance.
On 12 July 2010, the Home Office announced that naphyrone had been banned and made a Class B drug,[12] following a report from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
As a triple reuptake inhibitor, naphyrone has been shown in vitro to affect the reuptake of the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine by interacting with the serotonin transporter (SERT), dopamine transporter (DAT), and norepinephrine transporter (NET).
One study found that the dissociation constant of naphyrone interacting with SERT is 33.1nM ± 1.1, with DAT is 20.1nM ± 7.1 and with NET is 136nM ± 27. The concentration of naphyrone required to inhibit the transporters by 50% is 46.0nM ± 5.5 for SERT, 40.0nM ± 13 for DAT and 11.7nM ± 0.9 for NET. Of a number of pyrovalerone analogues tested, naphyrone was found to be the only triple reuptake inhibitor found to be active at nM concentrations.[4]
Some samples of β-naphyrone sold have also been found to contain the alternative isomer α-naphyrone,[16] presumably produced accidentally as an impurity in synthesis.[17][failed verification] The in vitro data available in the scientific literature was all obtained using pure β-naphyrone, and the pharmacological properties of α-naphyrone are unknown, further complicating the pharmacological profile of this little-studied designer drug.
