Synthetics drugs

Reports of drug-facilitated sexual assaults are being received by law enforcement all over the country. To keep themselves safe, women and men should know what drugs are being used and how they are administered, both on college campuses and in cities.

Across the country, teens and young adults are adding illicit drugs to their vaping devices because they can use them without being detected, often right in front of parents or teachers.

Tianeptine, an antidepressant that can have similar effects on the body as opioids, is sold as a dietary supplement at gas stations and convenience stores across the country. It’s often marketed as an “alternative medicine” that can relieve pain, reduce depression symptoms, and address anxiety. While not approved for medical use in the United States, it is approved in some European, Asian, and Latin American countries.

New synthetic drugs are the wave of the future—and the present. Every year, a long list of new drugs is detected by law enforcement. Buyers may not even know what they are getting as these new substances may be camouflaged. This ignorance can result in their death.

While the number of cases of synthetic marijuana are declining, this drug isn't any less dangerous. Synthetic marijuana is a volatile and unpredictable drug.

The article discusses the emergence of a new category of drugs known as nitazenes in the illicit market, part of the larger class of novel synthetic opioids (NSOs). These drugs are just the latest synthetic opioids to be manufactured and distributed in Europe and North America.

Xylazine, a mind-altering animal tranquilizer once thought only rarely used in the U.S., has become so popular in some parts of the country that it has a slang name. It’s called “tranq dope.” In almost all cases, it’s mixed with fentanyl. What happens when an animal tranquilizer is mixed with America’s most potent opioid?

Since 2019, there have been 171 verified overdoses in Michigan that were traced back to a non-opioid animal tranquilizer called xylazine. That number is likely an undercount, but it is the most recent number Michigan toxicologists have published. Often without addicts knowing, drug dealers lace the tranquilizer into other drugs to create an extended high. Unfortunately, combining xylazine with other drugs increases users' risk for an overdose.

Ketamine has been used recreationally in the U.S. for some time, but only recently have usage rates increased significantly, and only recently has the drug become a major drug of concern. Law enforcement offices are reporting spikes in ketamine busts and seizures, and hospitals are increasingly reporting ketamine chemicals in ER patients.

While the entire world experienced a drop in human life expectancy in the last two years, the drop in the United States was much more pronounced than the global average, leading many experts to believe overdose deaths had an alarming effect on American mortality rates.

“Pink cocaine,” a new drug mixture, has arrived in Texas following distribution in major U.S. cities and Latin America. Despite the name, it seldom contains cocaine and is instead a risky mix of drugs like ketamine, MDMA, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. The drug’s pink coloring is meant to attract users, but its unpredictable ingredients make it extremely dangerous.

According to a recent report, illicit ketamine drug busts and seizures by law enforcement skyrocketed by 349% between 2017 and 2022. Ketamine has been in use for years as a tranquilizer medicine for veterinary practices and hospital applications, but now the sedative is a major drug of choice among addicts and recreational drug users.

Xylazine continues to spread across the U.S., often mixed with fentanyl and other substances. This veterinary sedative causes severe ulcers, increases the risk of fatal overdose, and can’t be reversed with naloxone. Its rise is worsening the drug crisis, creating life-threatening risks for users who unknowingly consume it in illicit drugs.