UAMS researchers participating in the synthetic marijuana study included (l-r) Anna Radominska-Pandya, Ph.D., Paul Prather, Ph.D., and Laura James, M.D., the principal investigator. They are joined by Translational Research Institute (TRI) Director Curtis Lowery, M.D., and Executive Director Lisa Jackson, J.D., R.N.

May 21, 2012 |

May 21, 2012 | A collaborative effort that includes seven University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) researchers has led to new detection methods for so-called marijuana substitutes such as K2, Summit and Spice.

A $100,000 UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI) grant enabled the creation of the interdisciplinary research team, said UAMS’ Laura James, M.D., the study’s principal investigator. The team, an established group of clinical and laboratory-based investigators, studied the effects of the drugs and developed a clinical test to determine the presence and amount of the most toxic synthetic compounds in a person’s body.

“Although this product is referred to as synthetic marijuana, it has some disastrous clinical effects, such as extreme panic attacks, seizures and death,” said James, a professor of pediatrics and section chief of clinical pharmacology and toxicology in the Department of Pediatrics of the College of Medicine and its affiliated Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute. “There had been some discussion about initiating a study, but TRI really cemented the formation and success of this effort.”

Findings from the year-long study have provided state health officials the scientific merit and tools they need to address the increasing use of the drug, said Jeffery H. Moran, Ph.D., who is the section chief of environmental chemistry and lead chemist at the Arkansas Public Health Laboratory of the Arkansas Department of Health.

Synthetic marijuana products were banned in Arkansas in 2010, not long after the first reports of harmful exposures. Although now illegal, the drugs are popular, especially among teenagers.

The expertise provided by the research team enabled Moran to work with the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory to begin forensic testing of the products, and it allowed the development of a human test – technology that other states are beginning to adopt.

“From a state perspective, the TRI award and the contributions of the research team have had an immeasurable impact in our state, and without exaggeration, around the world,” said Moran, a UAMS pharmacology and toxicology adjunct professor who was a co-investigator on the study. “We’ve worked with other health departments across the United States to help transfer this technology.”

The Arkansas Public Health Laboratory continues to work with several state and federal partner laboratories to transfer this latest technology and knowledge. For example, several state public health laboratories recently attended a symposium hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to learn about synthetic marijuana testing. Moran has given presentations and educational symposiums to forensic and public health laboratories in Michigan, Arizona, Washington and Oklahoma.   

Moran, who also has traveled Arkansas addressing community groups and civic leaders, said the award continues to affect the state’s response, which includes the development of educational and community outreach awareness programs.

UAMS’ Mary E. Aitken, M.D., M.P.H., a veteran injury prevention researcher and associate professor of pediatrics, became an interested observer of the study from its inception.

“Having cutting-edge information on the science and the policy aspects of these emerging drugs has been very helpful for our injury prevention efforts,” said Aitken, medical director of the Injury Prevention Center at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

The research team’s  findings have been added to poison prevention materials distributed statewide, and the study’s findings were used to inform teachers and others at the Informed Choices=Injury Prevention conference in late 2011, Aitken said.

TRI Director Curtis Lowery, M.D., said the successful collaborative study serves as a model for the types of research supported by TRI, which is funded by the National Institutes of Health.

“This study led by Dr. James demonstrates how TRI’s support of interdisciplinary collaboration can help directly benefit public health,” Lowery said. “While we have a limited amount of research funding, TRI is targeting its resources to those promising projects that are most likely to ‘translate’ from the laboratory into the public domain.”

Other members of the study team included:

•          William Fantegrossi, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.
•          Keith R. McCain, Pharm.D., an assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy.
•          Paul Prather, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the College of Medicine.
•          Anna Radominska-Pandya, Ph.D., a professor in the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Medicine in the College of Medicine.
•          William D. Wessinger, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the College of Medicine.
•          Cindy Moran, quality assurance and quality control manager at the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory.
•          Gregory W. Endres, Ph.D., vice president of chemistry at Cayman Chemical in Ann Arbor, Mich.