Abstract:
This thesis is in two sections, the first covers legal highs in New Zealand and the second focuses on methylethcathinone, one of the most common chemicals detected in illicit tablet seizures in New Zealand. The legal high section investigated the identification of psychoactive chemicals contained in a sample of legal highs purchased from New Zealand based websites, regular surveys of the products available on these websites and examination of how the temporary class drug notices have affected the availability and price of these products. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry and subsequent matching of mass spectra to databases allowed for the identification of a multitude of psychoactive, ranging from fluorinated versions of previously banned synthetic cannabinoids to mild stimulants like synephrine. The regular surveys suggest that the temporary scheduling of these chemicals is beginning to become ineffective in decreasing the amount of legal high products available. The methylethcathinone section investigated multiple areas, one being an analysis of physical, chemical, geographical and temporal trends that are identified as a result of exploring databases of case files and analysed tablets containing methylethcathinone from the sole forensic service provider in New Zealand. The full synthesis and chemical characterization of 4-methylethcathinone and selected isomers that should theoretically produce indistinguishable mass spectra and their subsequent discrimination utilizing infrared spectroscopy-based methods was also investigated. The development of a validated high performance liquid chromatography method for the quantitation of 4-methylethcathinone was carried out. The databases of methylethcathinone tablets suggest that there may be merit in further investigating the correlation of thickness and diameter for evidential or intelligence applications. The temporal and geographical trend data re-enforces the diverse nature of the New Zealand illicit tablet market. The data of synthesized positional isomers suggest that 2-methylethcathinone, 3-methylethcathinone and 4-methylethcathinone will be distinguishable by their infrared spectra. The investigation into a high performance liquid chromatography quantitation method suggests that this method is robust enough to meet the strict criteria required for the method to be implemented in forensic laboratories.