The news of late has been dominated by talk of opioid narcotics, prescription drugs like oxycodone and illicit ones like heroin. Recently there has been a lot of talk about powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl and carfentanil, around 100 times and 10,000 times more potent than morphine respectively. In many ways, taking synthetic opioids can be a death sentence. Fentanyl was never meant to be used illicitly, and carfentanil was meant for elephants not humans.
Synthetic opioids are a major concern, to be sure, but there are other synthetic drugs that have been plaguing American streets for some time now. And there is a good chance that you have heard or read about many of them. Spice, K2, Flakka and bath salts may come to mind. In many parts
of the world the chemicals used to make synthetic marijuana and bath salts are not outlawed. When governments to ban the ingredients used to make them, chemists are quick to alter the formula in order to circumvent the blacklist. If you are working a program of addiction recovery, or have a vested interest in understanding these chemicals, you may be wondering what the attraction is to a family of drugs that has been linked to hundreds of terrifying news stories? The easiest way to answer that question is that they are easy to acquire, relatively inexpensive and often go undetected on standard drug screens. But despite the perceived benefits of synthetic drugs, the potential side effects are not worth the risk.
Unpredictable Synthetic Drugs
For the time being, let’s just spotlight synthetic cannabinoids; which, despite the moniker have little in common with traditional marijuana. To be sure, marijuana despite its benign reputation is not without risk. Yet, when you compare marijuana to synthetic cannabis—apples and oranges is what you find.
The chemical makeup of what is sprayed on herbal matter to be smoked by users is constantly being changed. A user hasn’t any way of knowing what to expect, and what they experience can be deadly. Common side effects of synthetic marijuana, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), include extreme anxiety, confusion, paranoia and hallucinations. And even more concerning:
- Rapid Heart Rate
- Vomiting
- Violent Behavior
- Suicidal Thoughts
In order to combat the synthetic drug crisis in America, lawmakers and government agencies have banned certain chemicals and begun targeting people distributing the dangerous drugs. Just this week, 42-year-old Ramsey Jeries Farraj from Bakersfield, pleaded guilty to a charge related to more than $4 million in synthetic drug-sale proceeds, Bakersfield Now reports. For his crimes related to selling spice and K-2 online, Farraj is looking at five years in prison and a fine.
Synthetic Marijuana is Dangerous
Young people are often drawn to synthetic drugs for the reasons mentioned earlier. They frequently do not know about the synthetic drugs deadly nature and that they can be addictive. If you are young adult male who is using synthetic drugs of any kind on a regular basis, there is a good chance that you have become dependent. With each week that passes, there is no way of knowing what changes chemists will make to the drugs you are consuming, the next batch may be your last. Please contact 10 Acre Ranch to break the cycle of addiction and begin the journey of recovery.
