A new crippling wave of drug use is spreading throughout the U.S. and creating a dangerous new threat to youngsters, teens and young adults.

Parents, often the last to know, may have never heard of “Spice” or “Bath Salts.”  Both are now available on the open market, at your neighborhood gas stations, smoke shops, drug stores often don’t even know what these new threats are, because they are calculatingly labeled:  NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.

Even though, kids are using them now everyday.

Here’s the background:

“SPICE” is a synthetic “Cannibanoid” or Marijuana.  ( Sometimes called “Jazz”.”)  It has the appearance of dried Oregano or Parsley and it’s sold as incense.  It is also often sprayed with dangerous chemicals that could kill.  High school students are using it in place of Marijuana.  Spice is now becoming more popular than Marijuana.

“CRATUM” is an opiate and is revealed in the blood as methadone.  It is a prescription drug or a liquid, and can be disguised as a 5-hour energy drink.

It’s branded AS “Cratum” or “Kratum.”  Here’s just a hint from Wikipedia:

“As with any substance that is ingested, adulteration or contamination is also a risk. In Europe branded kratom illegally laced with undisclosed synthetic opioid agonists such as O-desmethyltramadol have been reported. One brand that contained a mix of several different substances rather than natural kratom was linked to the deaths of nine people in Sweden during 2010-2011.  Kratom is a controlled substance in Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bhutan, New Zealand, Australia, Finland, Denmark, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden (Mitragynin) as of writing.”

“BATH SALTS” could be the worst of the bunch and is sold in the same retail settings and looks like a powder in a small, inexpensive packets.  Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has proposed legislation to ban it, and most parents don’t even KNOW about it.  Bath Salts are made of some of the most toxic ingredients known as mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone, also known as MDPV, already banned in many states.  More is here from The New York Post:

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/schumer_ban_bath_salts_W4BTRgxu1i7OmJB4lFSBjN#ixzz1mrCpAv69

What parents need to know is that drug testing is not yet sophisticated in revealing this kind of drug use.  As labs develop tests, the makers change the composition to disguise Spice, and Bath Salts.  Cratum, experts are unable to test for at all.

“One young man residing in a nearby facility was discovered to be under the influence of Bath Salts, and just as an example, he was in such a paranoic state that he was unable to move out of doorway for a day and half, fearful that going one way or the other something terrible would happen.  The same young man, about 30, under the same influence jumped from a 2nd story apartment, broke both of his ankles and kept running.  Police had to restrain him with a taser before he could come to a rest[,]”  shares Jeremy Broderick, who runs Windward Way, a respected residential living facility for recovering addicts.

“Parents need to be aware of what’s available to kids, and how cheap and accessible it all is.  A lot of time parents are fooled into thinking their teens have behavioral problems, when what’s piercing their family is drug use.  So many of the drugs today are opiate-based and young kids and teens are HOOKED the very first time a friend offers it as a kick, a game, or an act of rebellion.  It’s OVER the very first time.”

It’s a dangerous world for our kids and families.  Get informed, don’t be afraid to demand a drug test from your teens, your young adults, even your adult children.  If it’s happening to them, you an imagine the epidemic that is infecting the workplace, our schools and communities.  In researching this article The Kitchen Cabinet found that virtually EVERY state and county in America is in the process of trying to ban bath salts and all the above mentioned threats.

See these resources for more information:

http://www.boston.com/Boston/dailydose/2012/02/bath-salt-abuse-and-other-stupid-health-risks-teens-take/N0u5ix8Wx8xfvvDQUQQScP/index.html

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2012/02/attorney-general-lawmakers-push-for-outlawing-new-synthetic-drugs-k2-jazz.html

http://www.ksby.com/news/doctors-warn-about-rising-use-of-synthetic-drugs/

   Follow @TKC_US    

 

Filed under: Economy, Featured, Inside The KC, Politics by Sonja Eddings Brown, Feb 19, 2012