There is always another product you can find in a tobacco or head shop to make you think you are making a good choice in recovery, because after all, it may be “legal” in your town. Nevertheless, legal doesn’t make a product safe. Synthetic drugs(or new psychoactive substances (NPS) have no legitimate medical use and aim to mimic the effects of existing illicit drugs (such as cannabis, cocaine, MDMA and LSD). Synthetic drugs have different chemical structures from the illicit substances they are trying to emulate. It’s hard for the FDA or DEA to stay ahead of the ever changing new substances entering the market. Often before a new synthetic drug gets attention, it has already caused too many deaths. Given the rise in the use of synthetic drugs, most of which are extremely dangerous, a number of states have passed laws banning the use and sale of such substances. However, manufacturers of synthetic drugs constantly change their chemical structures to try and stay ahead of the law. These products often state, “Not For Human Consumption” on the label, to protect the distributor. The manufacturers of these products are trying to make money at the expense of your health and sobriety. Don’t be fooled. One has to do their due diligence and research for themselves prior to putting a substance of any kind in their body.

Marketed as a safe or legal alternative drug, synthetic Marijuana, called K2, Spice and herbal or liquid incense or potpourri started sickening Americans in 2008, with illnesses reported in Europe before the drugs reached the US. In 2011, the DEA made it illegal to sell JWH-018 and four related compounds or products that contained them, but that hasn’t kept new synthetic cannabinoids from emerging on the illegal drug market and leading to life-threatening overdoses. These Synthetic cannabinoids are human-made mind-altering chemicals similar to chemicals found in the marijuana plant. These chemicals are either sprayed on dried, shredded plant material so they can be smoked or sold as liquids to be vaporized and inhaled in e-cigarettes and other devices. Synthetic marijuana drugs are not safe and may affect the brain much more powerfully than marijuana; their actual effects can be unpredictable and, in some cases, more dangerous or even life-threatening. In 2016, California passed a law banning synthetic marijuana.

Psychoactive “bath salts”, also known as synthetic cathinone’s, (synthetic cocaine or methamphetamine) first appeared in the recreational drug marketplace of the United States during late 2010. Synthetic cathinone’s, are human-made psychoactive stimulant narcotics chemically related to cathinone, a substance found in the khat plant. Khat is a shrub grown in East Africa and southern Arabia, where some people chew its leaves for their mild stimulant effects. Human-made versions of cathinone can be much stronger than the natural product and, in some cases, very dangerous. By early 2011, there was a dramatic spike in reports of bath salts overdose to poison control centers and an influx of patients admitted to emergency departments with toxic exposures. The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) announced emergency scheduling in 2011 to control MDPV, mephedrone and methylone, all chemicals found in bath salts. Synthetic cathinone’s are made in labs and marketed as cheap substitutes for amphetamines and cocaine.

Kratom is a tropical evergreen tree in the coffee family native to Southeast Asia. Kratom has opioid properties and stimulate-like effects. Kratom is banned by some states in the U.S. due to safety concerns. Often sold as a dietary supplement, Kratom is an unscheduled opioid receptor agonist. Although the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned its use as a dietary supplement, kratom continues to be widely available. People use kratom for withdrawal from heroin, morphine and other opioid drugs, as well as an energy booster, mood enhancer and pain reliever. Nevertheless, there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses. Using kratom can also be unsafe. Kratom use has been linked to serious side effects including hallucinations, seizures, liver damage, withdrawal, and death. Due to these and other serious safety concerns, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to warn people to avoid using products containing kratom or its ingredients, mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. FDA is concerned that kratom, which affects the same opioid brain receptors as morphine, appears to have properties that expose users to the risks of addiction, abuse, and dependence. In a study testing kratom as a treatment for symptoms of opioid withdrawal, people who took kratom for more than six months reported withdrawal symptoms similar to those that occur after opioid use. In addition, people who use kratom may begin craving it and require treatments given for opioid addiction, such as naloxone (Narcan) and buprenorphine (Buprenex). Many of the problems that occur with pain medications happen when these drugs are used at high doses or over a long period of time. It’s not known exactly what level of kratom is toxic in people, but as with pain medications and recreational drugs, it is possible to overdose on kratom.

Salvia divinorum, is an hallucinogen which can mimic the effects of illicit substances like LSD and ecstasy is sold under the following names: Diviner’s Sage, Sally D, Magic Mint, Lady Salvia, Sage Of The Seers, Purple Sticky, or simply and most widely Salvia. Side effects of the drug can include visual distortions and hallucinations, intense dissociation and disconnections from reality, disorientation or dizziness, synesthesia (“hearing” colors or “smelling” sounds), cartoon-like imagery, uncontrollable laughter, and lasting psychosis. Studies have shown it could possibly harm learning and memory. According to the Center for Substance Abuse Research, salvinorin A is the most potent naturally occurring hallucinogen.

Methoxetamine or MXE has recently become available via the Internet and is marked as “legal ketamine.” The lack of credible research evidence on MXE makes it a risky substance to take both in the short term and the long term. In the short term, you could suffer from acute complications of the drug, such as; psychiatric, cognitive, neurological, and/or cardiovascular problems. In the long term MXE can cause kidney dysfunction, severe abdominal pain known as k-cramps, depression, psychosis, memory impairments, and ulcerative cystitis. MXE is not a safe legal alternative to ketamine, in fact, it is often more potent and unpredictable than the illicit drug it is designed to mimic.

Piperazines, are a broad class of chemical compounds that include BZP, TMFPP, DBZP and mCPP. which mimic the effects of ecstasy (MDMA). Piperazines are usually taken as pills that come in various forms, color’s and shapes. They can carry an impression such as: a housefly, crown, heart, butterfly, smiley face, bull’s head, bird flying, Mickey Mouse, five pointed star, Superman and a witch’s hat. Piperazine derivatives are commercialized under the names of “rapture,” “charge,” “herbal ecstasy,” “frenzy,” “bliss,” “A2,” “legal X,” and “legal E.” The chemical composition of substances sold as piperazines are changing all the time, which is why you can never be sure of what you’re getting and how it could affect you. These psychoactive drugs are available via the Internet, frequently legal, and often perceived as safe by the public. Unfortunately, these drugs often have adverse effects, which range from minimal to life-threatening.

Be mindful, although these drugs may be synthetic, they still act like drugs, therefore they are still drugs. You can’t fake your body or others into thinking they pass as safe alternatives in a life of sobriety. Most importantly taking these substances can cost you your life. The risk you are taking isn’t worth it!! A life of sobriety needs to be clean of any mind and/or body altering drugs no matter what they are sold or labeled as. Even something seemly safe such as “cough medicine” doesn’t qualify if it contains a narcotic or alcohol. You need to protect your sobriety, your mind and your body. Therefore, KNOW what you’re putting into body. If it’s a product that has, or is a drug of any kind, JUST SAY “NO!”

~Teri Storm