Lab-produced drugs are a serious and emerging threat, according to NIDA’s National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS).
As it turns out, more and more young people turn to synthetic drugs, whether prescription-based like painkillers, or from some other sources. Either way, this trend has been evident for quite some time, especially among youth in metropolitan areas.
The question is: Why is this happening?
Simply because synthetic drugs are cheaper, and apparently easy to produce. Also, since they are mass-produced they are almost always available in larger quantities which makes them suitable for dealing. To make matters even worse, it doesn’t take long until a person becomes an addict since synthetic drugs are typically highly addictive.
Facing the imminent danger, some states and localities already outlawed specific compounds that were used in the production of certain drugs, or banned the drug itself. For example, DEO banned the Opioid U-47700 (dubbed “Pink”). This synthetic drug was temporarily banned since it was linked to as much as 50 deaths. Pink is a strong synthetic opioid far more stronger than morphine.
Another drug called fentanyl has been reported to have caused a number of deaths. Namely, according to the NDEWS New Hampshire HotSpot Report, “Fentanyl-related deaths nearly doubled from 2014 to 2015 (145 to 283) and accounted for nearly two thirds of all New Hampshire drug deaths.”
Synthetic drugs are a serious problem among young people, and people need to educate themselves as well as their loved ones of just how dangerous these substances can be.
