Today during my usual early morning workout I noticed the CBS TV channel had a report about the growing problem of "designer drugs." I almost fell off the bike when I heard the young news anchor talk about designer drugs, as though they are a new development. This is not a new problem. Designer drugs have been around for almost 100 years, though that term was first coined in the 1980s. The current discussion in lots of media venues seems to be disconnected from that history.
Designer drugs refer to a group of drugs that are similar, not in effects, but in the way they are made. As opposed to drugs from plants, such as opium, tobacco or marijuana, designer drugs are produced in a laboratory. Of course the legal pharmaceuticals are designer drugs in that sense, except the term is used for the drugs most definitely illicit. Designer drugs exist for a number of reasons. The first is that designer drugs can be operated like a cottage industry, out of a garage or basement. The bad guys who concoct designer drugs are able and inclined to avoid the even worse bad guys who run the traditional supply and distribution routes of illegal drugs - cartels and organized crime bosses. The second reason for designer drugs is the search for the new high. Illegal drug users are often sensation-seekers, and so part of their motivation is to try something new. Designer drugs are marketed as better or at least different from drugs already on the scene. Third, some designer drugs, because they are new, can defeat the screening capacity of drug testing technology. Finally, because of the legal platform for the war on drugs, prohibitions are based on specifically named drugs with a particular molecular structure. Innovative chemists can take an illegal drug, slightly alter the chemical structure, and at once create a new drug experience with a substance that is legal, at least until the laws catch up.
Designer drugs typically are either opium-like, dulling the senses, or stimulants. Some of the designer drugs can also induce hallucinations. Ecstasy is the classic designer drug, but more recently we've seen synthetic marijuana ("K2") and stimulants labeled "bath salts" which are actually injected or smoked. Designer drugs and responsible drug use are mutually exclusive because it is not possible to verify actual ingredients or dosage. Traffickers in designer drugs do not subscribe to the Better Business Bureau. Consequently, this is definitely a case of "let the buyer beware."
Because of the varied nature of designer drugs, there are no comprehensive population counts. We have statistics on the use of specific drugs, such as Ecstasy, but not for the group as a whole. The individual drugs in this category are all in single digits for annual and past month consumption. Mainstream lifestyle's do not accommodate these drugs; most people would consider this "hard core" drug abuse, an experience very different from the person who occasionally smokes marijuana. While designer drugs cause relatively few deaths and serious health effects, they clearly present a level of danger above and beyond the risks from marijuana or even most prescription drug abuse.
So why are we seeing a resurgence of designer drugs? Because we didn't really learn how to prevent them the first time around. The reasons for their proliferation in the 1980s are still in place. Typical educational tools and campaigns are generally not effective with designer drug users, though in general, perceived risk is associated with decreased drug consumption. Since these drugs are entirely out of mainstream society's supervision, because they are illegal, there are few if any policy solutions (such as requiring an active ingredients list) that can be applied.
Perhaps the new generation of drug abuse prevention professionals will have more success in combating these drugs than the original workers who actually remember the first drug warrior, Richard M. Nixon.
Designer drugs refer to a group of drugs that are similar, not in effects, but in the way they are made. As opposed to drugs from plants, such as opium, tobacco or marijuana, designer drugs are produced in a laboratory. Of course the legal pharmaceuticals are designer drugs in that sense, except the term is used for the drugs most definitely illicit. Designer drugs exist for a number of reasons. The first is that designer drugs can be operated like a cottage industry, out of a garage or basement. The bad guys who concoct designer drugs are able and inclined to avoid the even worse bad guys who run the traditional supply and distribution routes of illegal drugs - cartels and organized crime bosses. The second reason for designer drugs is the search for the new high. Illegal drug users are often sensation-seekers, and so part of their motivation is to try something new. Designer drugs are marketed as better or at least different from drugs already on the scene. Third, some designer drugs, because they are new, can defeat the screening capacity of drug testing technology. Finally, because of the legal platform for the war on drugs, prohibitions are based on specifically named drugs with a particular molecular structure. Innovative chemists can take an illegal drug, slightly alter the chemical structure, and at once create a new drug experience with a substance that is legal, at least until the laws catch up.
Designer drugs typically are either opium-like, dulling the senses, or stimulants. Some of the designer drugs can also induce hallucinations. Ecstasy is the classic designer drug, but more recently we've seen synthetic marijuana ("K2") and stimulants labeled "bath salts" which are actually injected or smoked. Designer drugs and responsible drug use are mutually exclusive because it is not possible to verify actual ingredients or dosage. Traffickers in designer drugs do not subscribe to the Better Business Bureau. Consequently, this is definitely a case of "let the buyer beware."
Because of the varied nature of designer drugs, there are no comprehensive population counts. We have statistics on the use of specific drugs, such as Ecstasy, but not for the group as a whole. The individual drugs in this category are all in single digits for annual and past month consumption. Mainstream lifestyle's do not accommodate these drugs; most people would consider this "hard core" drug abuse, an experience very different from the person who occasionally smokes marijuana. While designer drugs cause relatively few deaths and serious health effects, they clearly present a level of danger above and beyond the risks from marijuana or even most prescription drug abuse.
So why are we seeing a resurgence of designer drugs? Because we didn't really learn how to prevent them the first time around. The reasons for their proliferation in the 1980s are still in place. Typical educational tools and campaigns are generally not effective with designer drug users, though in general, perceived risk is associated with decreased drug consumption. Since these drugs are entirely out of mainstream society's supervision, because they are illegal, there are few if any policy solutions (such as requiring an active ingredients list) that can be applied.
Perhaps the new generation of drug abuse prevention professionals will have more success in combating these drugs than the original workers who actually remember the first drug warrior, Richard M. Nixon.
1 comment:
The first is that designer drugs can be operated like a cottage industry, out of a garage or basement. The bad guys who concoct designer drugs are able and inclined to avoid the even worse bad guys who run the traditional supply and distribution routes of illegal drugs - cartels and organized crime bosses.
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