Tag Archives: synthetic drugs

Why Synthetic Marijuana Harms Brain More Than Pot

Synthetic marijuana is a chemical-plant material mixture that contains synthetic cannabinoids, manmade compounds designed to reach the brain through the same pathway as the main cannabis/marijuana ingredient THC. One of the potential consequences of using synthetic cannabinoids is the onset of psychosis symptoms highly similar to those found in people with the severe mental illness […]

Extreme Psychotic Reaction to Spice Reveals Risks of Synthetic Marijuana

Psychosis is an extremely dysfunctional mental state most commonly associated with the presence of schizophrenia and certain other severe mental illnesses. Addiction specialists and researchers know that marijuana can produce a temporary psychosis-like state in active users and also potentially increases the odds that a person with latent psychotic tendencies will experience psychotic episodes. In […]

Ecstasy, Molly Can Be Fatal in Warm Environments

Hyperthermia is the technical term for a loss of internal control over body temperature that can produce severe or even fatal changes in organ health. For a long time, doctors and researchers have known that use of large doses of the “club drug” MDMA (more commonly known as Ecstasy or Molly) is linked to increased […]

Teens Make Rapid Shift Away From Bath Salts

“Bath salts” are a modern class of illicit/illegal drugs with a close chemical relationship to natural, mind-altering substances contained in a stimulant plant called khat; these drugs have entered circulation in the U.S. over the last several years. Bath salts are used by only a very small minority of American teenagers. According to results of […]

Return to Dust: Bane of the ’70s, PCP Now a Supporting Player in the Saga of Aaron Hernandez

This post has been updated to reflect the latest developments in the criminal case against Aaron Hernandez. The powerful street drug PCP, largely unheard of since its violent heyday in the 1970s, may go higher profile as the saga of former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez continues to unfold. Hernandez, already charged with murder […]

Youths Who Use Designer Drugs Can’t Stop After Just One

Designer drugs are man-made or synthetic drugs.  They are chemical compounds created in a laboratory and sold on the street to users looking for intense or specific kinds of “highs.”  They are sold under a slew of names, making them hard for parents to keep track of.  Anti-drug agencies report that teens and young people […]

Man Dies After Paranoid Reaction to Magic Crystals

Daniel Parks’ wife had fallen asleep, shattered after a long day at the UK-based music festival Bestival. Daniel locked himself in the bathroom—his mind frazzled by his use of drugs over the weekend—and took a kitchen knife with him. He mutilated his lower arms, sending blood cascading down onto the floor of the small cubicle […]

Teen Who ‘Thought He Could Fly’ After Taking Synthetic LSD Falls to His Death

Synthetic drugs may be the new trend in getting high that parents, law enforcement agents and lawmakers need to be worried about. From the synthetic marijuana products that came out several years ago packaged to look like incense or potpourri, to the newest drugs coming from China and Europe, these laboratory-manufactured substances pose a real […]

New Drug Desmethyl Fentanyl 40 Times Stronger Than Heroin

A huge cache of a new lethal street drug was discovered in Montreal, making people aware of this dangerous substance. It’s called desmethyl fentanyl, and Montreal police seized over 300,000 tablets of it in April. Not only is this new drug deadly, like other very harmful street substances like crystal meth, it is made by […]

Designer Drugs: What They Are and Why Their Use Is Growing: Part III

A lack of scientific literature describing designer drug substances easily leads to unpredictable effects upon human use and no real guidelines on how to treat overdose cases in the medical environment. Of course, this means no safety evaluation or regulation in the course of manufacturing, even in the cases where the drug is still legal. […]

Designer Drugs: What They Are and Why Their Use Is Growing: Part II

Appearing in the media more often than not recently, designer drugs are rapidly cultivating a reputation for being dangerous and spreading as fast as a pandemic. There’s a reason for users’ preference for designer drugs over their illegal counterparts—until as recently as last year, most designer drugs were legal, which has changed with the 2012 […]