A Comprehensive Examination of Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS) in Pakistani Illicit Drug Market

Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) are a group of illicit drugs called party drugs since produce a sense of excitement and pleasure. ATS include amphetamine (AMP), methamphetamine (MET), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy), and N,N-dimethylamphetamine (DMA). In Pakistan, these drugs are less common if compared to hashish and heroin. However, recently, their abuse has increased, since Pakistan is on the transit route for ATS produced in Afghanistan, making them easily available. AMP, MET, and DMA are white crystalline materials, but MET and MDPA can be distributed in the market in tablets of different colors, shapes, sizes, and compositions. New MET tablets, of unknown composition, are released on the illicit market every day. For example, MET, initially supplied in pure form, now contains adulterants and its abuse is often in combination with other illicit substances, such as hashish. This phenomenon highlights the need for constantly monitoring the threat to Pakistani society, with the final aim of controlling ATS trafficking, local synthesis, street-level drug abuses, and the evolution of ATS tablet compositions. Here, we present the results of street drug analyses (color tests, GC-MS, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy) on illicit tablets seized in Pakistan, carried out according to UNODC protocols/SWGDRUG recommendations by the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) at Narcotic Unit, Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA, Lahore). GC-MS and FTIR data showed that AMP and MET were supplied to the local drug markets mostly in pure form, while urea, lactose, and saccharin were observed in a few cases as diluents. MET was also detected in combination with hashish. In one case, GC-MS analysis of tablets suspected to be MDMA showed the co-presence of methamphetamine, DMA, caffeine, dextromethorphan, diazepam, MAM, diacetylmorphine (heroin), sildenafil, and vardenafil.