Consumption of synthetic cannabinoids among minors in centres in the Community of Valencia detected 



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## Consumption of synthetic cannabinoids among minors in centres in the Community of Valencia detected

23/04/2020 |
SCP

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* [![ cannabis-centres-menors cannabissintetic](/com/investigacio/arxiu/noticies/2020/4/cannabis-centres-menors/cannabissintetic.jpg)](#)

The TXP research group of the CEU Cardenal Herrera University (CEU UCH) in Castellón, in collaboration with the Analytical Chemistry Research Group in Public Health and the Environment of the University Institute of Pesticides and Water of the Universitat Jaume I (UJI), has published a study on the detection of synthetic cannabinoid consumption in minors living in detention centres in the Valencian Community. The team, led by Dr. Gonzalo Haro, lecturer of the Department of Medicine and Surgery at the CEU UCH, and Dr. María Ibáñez, from the UJI, has analysed 667 urine samples from 127 minors from five centres for juvenile offenders, detecting synthetic cannabinoid metabolites in the urine of six minors. The conclusions of this study have been published in the international scientific  *Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis*.  
  
The consumption of synthetic cannabinoids is an increasingly frequent reality in addiction care. Minors can consume these substances as opposed to organic cannabis, due to their easier acquisition, low cost and difficulty in their control, as they are not detected in ordinary cannabis controls. In the analyses, carried out by liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry, the main metabolites of synthetic cannabinoids UR-144 and XLR-11 were detected in six of the minor participants.

**Effects and detection of consumption**

Abel Baquero, one of the authors of this article and lecturer at the CEU UCH in Castellón, emphasises that "these minors were unaware of the short-term consequences of their consumption on a neurological, respiratory, cardiovascular or psychiatric level". These repercussions have been noted in previous publications by the TXP research group at CEU UCH, such as the detection in Spain of the first case of catatonic psychosis induced by synthetic cannabinoids in the world. Intervention in these problems requires, in most cases, specialized treatment in addiction treatment units.

Baquero also stresses that "the harmful effects of long-term consumption are still unknown today, due to the increasingly frequent appearance of new synthetic cannabinoids that replace the previous ones, but also due to their greater power on the cannabinoid brain receptors". Furthermore, "we must take into account that they go unnoticed, since the initial manifestations of consumption simulate the common symptoms of any addiction: irritability, mood swings, aggressiveness, etc. However, they cannot be detected with conventional tests".

**Consumption and relapse**

CEU UCH lecturer Gonzalo Haro, director of the TXP research group, stresses that "the detection of synthetic cannabinoid consumption in centres for young offenders must be considered serious, since these minors use these substances so that they are not detected during their leave, ignoring the important consequences that these drugs can have on their physical and mental health, even increasing the risk of re-offending in crimes related to the consumption of substances that could lead them back to these centres or already from adults to prison".

In this regard, the study by the CEU UCH in Castellón and the UJI concludes with the need to implement strategies for the prevention and treatment of synthetic cannabis use, as well as the necessary training among professionals in these centres for the treatment of consumption. In Haro's opinion, it would be advisable for the authorities responsible for these centres, which are dependent on the Regional Ministry for Equality and Inclusive Policies, "to bear in mind that the solution is not to withdraw the permits of minors, as these are necessary for their re-integration into society, but to help them stop consuming synthetic cannabinoids through prevention and treatment programmes".

The team that carried out the study is made up of researchers David Fabregat, María Ibáñez, Juan Vicente Sancho and Félix Hernández, from the Universitat Jaume I; Abel Baquero, researcher from the TXP Group and lecturer in the Department of Medicine and Surgery at the CEU UCH in Castellón; and Gonzalo Haro, director of the TXP Group, lecturer in Mental Health in the Bachelor's Degree in Medicine at the CEU UCH in Castellón and responsible for the serious dual pathology programme at the Hospital Provincial de Castellón.

["Investigation on the consumption of synthetic cannabinoids among teenagers by the analysis of herbal blends and urine samples"](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S073170852030282X?via%3Dihub), *Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis*:

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpba.2020.113298

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