Synthetic Drugs, Real Danger

The abuse of synthetic drugs, or designer drugs, has been recognized as far back as the 1980's. Producers of these drugs work continuously to create legal alternatives to controlled substances like marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, and opioids that produce similar kinds of highs. Parents have to worry not only about a child's exposure to illegal drugs, but about synthetic drugs, many of which are produced and marketed directly at children and young adults. Synthetic cannabinoids, with names like Spice, K2, or Scooby Snax, come in brightly-colored packaging, often containing cartoon characters or other decorations to make them attractive to teenagers. Additionally, they are being marketed and sold as legal alternatives to marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. Thus young people believe them to be safe, legal alternatives. However, they are addictive and deadly. That is because these drugs while designed to mimic the effects of certain illegal drugs, often contain a panoply of additional chemicals which can cause increased heart rate, psychosis, and death. The professor who is widely credited with first synthesizing cannabinoids for research purposes, Dr. John Huffman of Clemson University, has said, "These things are dangerous. Anybody who uses them is playing Russian roulette. They have profound psychological effects. We never intended them for human consumption." Indeed, they are often labeled as not for human consumption. But everyone, the manufacturer, seller, and the user, knows they are intended to be consumed.