Cannabis laced with Viagra-like compound being sold in Netherlands

The London News.Net
Saturday 1st November, 2008

London, Nov 1 : While analysing a liquid, which was being sold on the streets of Utrecht, Netherlands, as a "marijuana adulterant", researchers have discovered Viagra-like compounds in it.

The team led by Dries de Kaste from National Institute of Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven has identified compounds called homosildenafil (HS) and thiohomosildenafil (THS) that belong to the in the same class of compounds called sildenafil, sold as Viagra.

These compounds obstruct the breakdown of an enzyme that dilates blood vessels in the penis, increasing blood flow, reports New Scientist.

Although De Kaste still needs to know why HS and THS are being added to cannabis, but she believes that it could be to enhance the uptake of its psychoactive constituents or to exploit a perception that marijuana use affects libido.

Moreover, HS and THS were not destroyed when they were "smoked" using a laboratory simulator.

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