The opium craze of yesteryear appears to have been replaced by designer drugs. The trend is notable in Malaysia, where more than sixty percent of drug abusers are on synthetic drugs like bath salts and spice. But the rest of the world feels it, too, as new concoctions are released every week, making it very difficult for law enforcement to do anything about it.
From Opium To... What?
Opium and its byproducts have been around since ancient Mesopotamia. After the Opium Wars in the mid-nineteenth century, Chinese immigrants brought opium to America during the building of the railroad and the gold rush. Opium dens became popular particularly in San Francisco's Chinatown, later spreading east to New York.
Opium was soon used to produce medicinal painkillers like morphine, codeine and oxycodone. Heroin was its illicit byproduct. All opium derivatives (called opioids) are highly addictive. Today prescription opioids are widely abused in the United States, and more people die from prescription drugs than from heroin and cocaine combined.
While it took centuries for opium to reach its peak today, synthetic drugs take the cake in terms of rate of expansion. In just the last seven years, designer drugs have become some of the most popular substances in schools and on streets all over the world. In Europe, authorities are seeing new designer drugs hit the streets every week. Eight years ago, they were appearing at a rate of five per year.
Most of these drugs are so new that parents don't even know what they are.
What Are Designer Drugs
Designer drugs are substances created by chemists in a lab to mirror the effects of other drugs. They are often made with a combination of easy-to-find materials. Some of the most notorious designer drugs on the market are Ecstasy, Bath Salts, Spice and Smiles. Spice, also known as synthetic marijuana, is made to act like pot. Bath Salts and Smiles are stimulants much like amphetamines, but hallucinogens like LSD.
These substances rarely have any natural components to them. Spice is promoted as a natural high and often has herbs listed in the ingredients on the packaging, but the leaves and twigs listed on the packaging do not matter--it is the chemicals sprayed on top that provide a fast, long-lasting and terrifying high.
From Legalities To Education
While law enforcement authorities the world over are flustered over how to address the designer drug problem, experts continue to push education as a remedy to the problem. While most parents have never heard of designer drugs, especially the newer ones, experts urge them to study up.
Understanding what they are and the effects they produce will help mom and dad have a proper heart-to-heart with their teens before their drug-addicted friends do. Learn the tragic consequences of designer drug abuse and prevent it from happening to you and your loved ones.
Designer drugs are a major problem but they don't have to be. If you know someone addicted that needs help or more information on Narconon Vista Bay