Synthetic recreational drugs endanger users, public

Consider, if you will, a street drug specifically engineered for the pleasure of the recreational user.

Compared to its natural counterpart, marijuana, the synthetic version can produce a high up to 800 times stronger, last hours longer and foil routine drug screen tests. All that for just a few dollars more than a joint.

For people willing to risk their health and freedom on illegal drugs, synthetic marijuana might seem alluring. This perception is unequivocally and tragically wrong.

There is a general lack of public knowledge regarding these newly popular drugs. Known as synthetic cannabinoids, they are marketed on the street and online under such enticing labels as “Spice” or “K2.”

Synthetic marijuana has already proven to be toxic to a growing number of users. Phone calls to poison control centers requesting assistance for related symptoms reportedly have risen by 500 percent. Also, synthetic marijuana reportedly accounts for 16 percent of recent drug-related discharges from the military.

Bath salts, another popular new synthetic drug, also has a distant plant relative. It is derived from an east African plant known as khat. The leaves of this plant are chewed by users (who number in the millions), but the synthetic version is based on the compound mephedrone, a chemical found in many amphetamines.

Because the criminal justice system has only recently become aware of the dangers these drugs pose, dealers have been able to sell them via a simple Internet transaction. They can be ingested in many ways, such as smoking, mixing with food or liquid, or inhaling like incense.

The high can last several hours. Sensations include feelings of anxiety and paranoia as well as open- and closed-eye hallucinations. During this period, the user may feel cold, numb and nauseous. Vomiting and memory loss are also common.

Most significant, these relatively unknown drugs produce a side effect similar to phencyclidine (aka PCP or angel dust). Users of PCP experience a mental state known as excited delirium (ED). The first indication that a subject is having an ED episode may be a 911 report of a naked subject on a violent rampage with inhuman strength and no pain response. The danger of injury to users and police alike is great.

Synthetics have led to violent psychotic events.

In April, Army Sgt. David Stewart killed his wife and then himself during a police chase. Their 5-year-old son was found dead in their Spanaway home. Police believe the couple had recently begun to experiment with bath salts.

A recent Los Angeles Times article reported that three otherwise healthy 16-year-old boys from Texas had suffered heart attacks. The only common factor in their health records: All had experimented with synthetic marijuana in the past week.

Those of us in law enforcement who have witnessed such incidents, either in person or in training videos, know the dangers posed by the use of synthetic drugs. But in schools, on military posts and in homes, too many people are unaware of the vast and potentially lethal difference between pot and synthetics. Because of this, young people are easily tempted to try such products as K2, Spice and Europa.

There is already a pile of information on the toxic chemistry and dangerous side effects of these drugs, and the violent and lethal consequences of abusing them.

Here’s another bit of knowledge that might save the life of someone who ignored the warnings: The number for poison control is 800-222-1222.

Brian O’Neill is a police officer and resident of Gig Harbor. Read more: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2011/11/14/synthetic-drugs-and-ignorance-are-dangerous-mix/#ixzz1doi3earB