© 2024 — Southwestern Association of Forensic Scientists

N-butyl Pentylone: Announcement of Newly Identified Novel Psychoactive Substance (NPS) in the United States

N-butyl Pentylone

NMS Labs, in collaboration with the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) at the Fredric Rieders Family Foundation and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) at the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), has received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop systems for the early identification and notification of Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) in the drug supply within the United States. The goal of the program is the early identification of NPS in seized drug and/or forensic toxicology casework samples using various analytical techniques. Information about these programs and an archive of newly reported substances can be found on the following website: www.npsdiscovery.org.

N-butyl Pentylone

N-butyl Pentylone is classified as a novel stimulant and substituted cathinone. Substituted cathinones are modified based on the structure of cathinone, an alkaloid found in the Khat plant. Novel stimulants have been reported to cause stimulant-like effects, similar to amphetamines. Novel stimulants have also caused adverse events, including deaths, as described in the literature. Structurally similar compounds include N-ethyl pentylone, pentylone, methylone, and butylone. N-ethyl Pentylone, pentylone, methylone, and butylone are Schedule I substances in the United States; however, N-butyl pentylone is not scheduled.