For many decades, changes in the illicit drug market occurred very slowly. In the 1960s, a number of new psychedelics arrived in the US and other major markets and stayed. Cocaine began to show up in volume in the US in the 1980s and was soon followed by a new way of processing the drug – crack cocaine. In the 1990s, the number of painkillers on the market increased and the volume of prescriptions in circulation skyrocketed.
But these changes are nothing compared to the tsunami of new drugs we have seen in the last several years. To give you an idea of the volume, a European drug monitoring agency reported identifying more than 350 “new psychoactive substances” on the market (this is their name for these new synthetics). In 2013 alone, 81 new substances were added to this list.
Why Are the Number of Synthetic Drugs Increasing So Fast?
Is it baffling why there are so many different synthetics being sold? Here’s why that’s happening.
Around the world, government bodies are trying to keep these harmful drugs off the market. To do so, the specific substance in question must be illegal for sale. There’s a loophole right here. If one of these products is sold as “plant fertilizer,” “glass cleaner” or “incense,” then the laws regulating its use are different than if it is sold as a drug. So the individuals manufacturing these drugs simply label the packages “not for human consumption.” In the US, state laws must ban that specific drug for police to be able to seize it and arrest sellers. In other countries, the problem is similar – national lawmakers must ban the drug.
So let’s say that a drug like MDMA (Ecstasy) or the chemicals found in Spice or bath salts are banned by law in New York. The chemists producing this drug simply turn to another similar chemical and start manufacturing it. It’s not yet included in any New York laws so the police can’t get it off the street. The new drug might be Bromo-DragonFLY, so called because a drawing of the molecule looks somewhat like a dragonfly.
Now, let’s say that the legislators in New York catch up and ban Bromo-DragonFLY. The chemists now just switch to another drug in the same category, 2C-B-Fly. The changeover to the new drug simply involves a tiny shift in the molecules. But the tiny chemical change can mean death to the users of this new drug. There’s certainly no testing for safety, no purity checks and no conscience in this industry.
Warnings from Law Enforcement
In recent weeks, law enforcement agencies and news media have been spreading the word about 25-i-NBOMe. It’s usually referred to as N-Bomb or N-BOMe. The drug had been seen outside the US but now it’s taking lives and endangering the sanity of our neighbors.
In Florida, this recent news report provides a warning to local families. And here’s another article about this drug from 2014.
One of the sinister characteristics about this drug is the tiny amount of the drug needed to cause a dangerous or even fatal effect. In one teaspoon of the drug, 10,000 doses can be manufactured, to be sold for $5 to $10 each. It’s not hard to understand the motivation for criminals to get into this industry.
You can learn about these synthetic drugs simply by downloading and reading our guide to dealing with synthetic drugs, available here. We instruct you on the major classes of these drugs, their nicknames and their effects. We even provide you with an outline on how to approach this subject with children.
If you’re thinking of using this drug, you might want look at your decision more closely. If you have kids, you need to know more than they are going to hear from their friends. Please feel free to use our information and share it with others.