Last year, 2015, I was able to speak over 320 times all across the nation. I wish I could publish the amazing questions I received from all of the different students along with the answers. A majority of questions always pertain to marijuana but every now and then I get some real brain twisters. Here is just a little sample:
- Since Nicotine stays in your system for a while, can mosquitos become addicted to it?
- Why do the whites of my eyes turn purple when I smoke weed through a gas mask?
- Why was I under my bed crying when I used XTC and shrooms together?
I am always a little amazed when I can answer these.
Breaking all of the questions down, and looking at new drug trends, here are some of the new drugs I expect to receive a majority of questions from.
1. Acetyl Fentanyl
A new synthetic opioid drug five times more potent than heroin, acetyl fentanyl was never marketed for medical use. This drug first surfaced on the radar of law enforcement in 2013, after a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory attributed 14 overdose deaths in Rhode Island to acetyl fentanyl use.
2. Molly
A new and refined variant of Ecstasy (3/4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) or MDMA, users frequently believe Molly is safer than that popular drug.
3. Spice
Spice can be found in many convenience stores and online, often marketed as a “legal and natural” marijuana alternative, and sold in packages marked “Not For Consumption.” But many people are smoking this, as the active ingredient is a variant of synthetic cannabinoid.
4. Flakka
A variation on the “bath salts” fad, this drug resembles small white rocks, hence the alternate name, gravel. That’s a much more convenient term than its patented chemical name, alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone, or a-PVP. Flakka can be cut with anything from clonazepam — a muscle relaxer — to rat poison.
5. Krokodil
Krokodil has roughly the same effect as heroin but is at least three times cheaper and extremely easy to make. The active component is codeine, a widely sold over-the-counter painkiller that is not toxic on its own. But to produce krokodil, whose medical name is desomorphine, addicts mix it with ingredients including gasoline, paint thinner, hydrochloric acid, iodine and red phosphorous, which they scrape from the striking pads on matchboxes.
