A current overview of the pharmacological composition of “La Chimique” consumed in Mayotte: Preliminary results of the CHASSE-MAREE protocol

Abstract

Mayotte Island, a French department located in the Mozambique Channel, has for several years been faced with the consumption of “La Chimique” (LC), reputed (but extremely poorly documented) to be a mixture of tobacco and synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs). One of the objectives of the CHASSE-MAREE protocol is to assess the composition and heterogeneity of LC products through successive LC sample collection campaigns among users. Currently underway, we present here the first analytical results (samples collected in 2022). Between September and December 2022, 80 samples were collected throughout the island over three periods: 70 in the usual form of LC (small folded papers containing a plant-like sample, mostly tobacco), 6 powders, and 4 cigarettes. Analysis was performed using liquid chromatography with high-resolution mass spectrometry. The detected substances (number of detections) included SCRAs (MDMB-4en-PINACA [35], ADB-FUBIATA [25], MDMB-INACA [16], ADB-BUTINACA [15], AFUBIATA [11], 4F-MDMD-BICA [7], CH-PIATA [14], 5C-APINACA [3], BZO-HEXOXIZID [2], and 4F-ABINACA [1]), nicotine (68), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabinol (CBN), and cannabidiol (CBD) (2), medications (amantadine [11], cyamemazine [6], and acetaminophen [3]), and a designer benzodiazepine (bromazolam [4]). The SCRAs currently in use are varied, and the market for “cooks” (those who prepare LC) is dispersed according to where and when samples are collected. These preliminary results will be supplemented by analysis of samples collected in the first half of 2023 and by an improved description of the current panorama of consumption of LC in Mayotte (mapping, effects felt and dependence, etc.).