ArticleEClinicalMedicine2020
An outbreak of deaths associated with AMB-FUBINACA in Auckland NZ.
Article in EClinicalMedicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- AB-MDMSBA-Not a Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2026Article
- Trends in toxicological findings and drug seizures of MDMA in New Zealand from 2010 to 2022.Journal of forensic sciences · 2026Article
- Synthetic Cannabinoids are Genotoxic in Cultured Human Lymphocytes.Current pharmaceutical design · 2025Article
- CB1 Receptor Negative Allosteric Modulators as a Potential Tool to Reverse Cannabinoid Toxicity.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Evaluating signaling bias for synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists at the cannabinoid CBPharmacology research & perspectives · 2023Article
- The piperazine analogue para-fluorophenylpiperazine alters timing of the physiological effects of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist AMB-FUBINACA, without changing its discriminative stimulus, signalling effects, or metabolism.Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior · 2023Article
- Characterisation of AMB-FUBINACA metabolism and CBForensic toxicology · 2023Article
- Simultaneous fatal poisoning of two victims with 4F-MDMB-BINACA and ethanol.Forensic toxicology · 2023Article
- Psychomotor performances relevant for driving under the combined effect of ethanol and synthetic cannabinoids: A systematic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Review
- Development of Cross-Reactive Antibodies for the Identification and Treatment of Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist Toxicity.Vaccines · 2022Article
- Synthetic Cannabinoid-Related Deaths in England, 2012-2019.Cannabis and cannabinoid research · 2022Article
- Reports of Adverse Events Associated with Use of Novel Psychoactive Substances, 2017-2020: A Review.Journal of analytical toxicology · 2022Review
- Off-target pharmacological profiling of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists including AMB-FUBINACA, CUMYL-PINACA, PB-22, and XLR-11.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- The Spicy Story of Cannabimimetic Indoles.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- Possible roles of AMPK and macropinocytosis in the defense responses against ΔToxicology reports · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
15 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAMB-FUBINACA is a synthetic cannabinoid that has been associated with periodic outbreaks of acute poisonings, but few fatalities. In late May, June and July 2017 Auckland, New Zealand, experienced an outbreak of deaths associated with AMB-FUBINACA that continued at a rate of about 2-3 per month through February 2019. The aim of this study was to define the demographic, circumstantial, pathological and toxicological characteristics of this outbreak.
methodsAll records of the Northern Forensic Pathology Service, Auckland Hospital, were reviewed in which the word "AMB-FUBINACA" was referenced, including initial police reports, autopsy reports and toxicology reports. Recorded data included age, sex, race/ethnicity, times and locations, cause of death, autopsy and toxicology findings, and a brief summary of the circumstances of death. Descriptive statistics were performed using IBM® SPSS® Statistics Version 24 and Microsoft® Excel® Version 14.7.2.
findingsSixty-four cases were identified. One sudden infant death and five cases where cause of death was due to trauma were excluded. Of the remaining 58 cases, 88% were male. Mean age was 42 years. In 95% of the deaths, AMB-FUBINACA alone or in combination with alcohol or another drug was listed as the primary or contributory cause of death. In 41 cases postmortem blood concentrations of AMB-FUBINACA acid were available, ranging from <45 ng/mL to >1000 ng/mL, mean 229 ng/mL, median 140 ng/mL. Comorbidities identified included mixed intoxications (29%), heart disease (47%) and obesity (16%). A mental health diagnosis was reported in 50%, and 40% were on antipsychotic medications.
interpretationThis study presents characteristics, comorbidities and toxicological findings in a unique outbreak of deaths associated with the synthetic cannabinoid AMB-FUBINACA in Auckland, NZ.
fundingAll work was funded as part of the usual employment of the authors in their respective institutions. No special funding sources are reported.
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