Synthetic drugs are drugs that are manmade and can be created from a variety of chemicals and ingredients found around the home or purchased online. Some of these compounds are mass produced in a warehouse, sometimes overseas, and distributed to the general public via misleading packaging in convenience stores. Synthetic cocaine, marijuana and heroin can all be found on convenience store shelves labeled as potpourri or bath salts.
Lately, investigators have begun to crack down on the sale of these drugs and states have joined in on the fight as well. Many state legislatures are making it illegal to sell these drugs, therefore keeping them away from their target audience – children. However, typical to the drug game, manufacturers are one often step ahead and wind up creating new drugs to sell. These chemicals are taking cities by storm and law enforcement efforts are often struggling to keep up with the changing market.
Flakka and Budder are two new drugs that have recently hit the market. Flakka is a kind of bath salt which mimics the effects of stimulants but can also have hallucinogenic properties. While bath salts have been on the market for quite a bit, this one is different in that the recipe is different, which is part of the plan of synthetic drug makers – to alter ingredients enough to get new drugs on the market.
“People are staying up for days at a time sometimes, their heart-rate increases, and often they can go into sleep deprived psychosis or it can trigger a mental health, if someone’s predisposed for a mental health disorder it could trigger that,” explained Robert Park, an employee at a Florida drug treatment center.
Budder is a much different kind of drug made from hash oil. The process of extracting the hash oil and making it into its new form is quite dangerous, as it involves butane. Law enforcement officers have already responded to several fires and explosions caused by people trying to make Budder.
For those who are addicted to either of these drugs, their road to recovery is not any easier than other substances. Treatment and prevention are the best tools to fight addiction. The more information we can arm our young people with, the less they’ll be fooled by new drugs.
