Seasoned parents know that fads come and go. Something that ignites teenage fever one day may fade to nothing a few weeks later.
But when it comes to teen drug use, designer drugs can be just as dangerous as the substances we’ve been warned about for decades. Even those who quickly lose their teen appeal do their share of damage along the way.
Here are five of the most dangerous teen drug trends you shouldn’t ignore:
Teen Drug Trend #1: Bath Salts
Bath salts hit the teen drug scene in 2010 and have since become a serious concern among law enforcement, hospitals, drug rehab centers, and parents. According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, calls about bath salts increased from 303 in all of 2010 to 3,470 between January and June 2011.
Bath salts are stimulants similar to methamphetamine and cocaine, but are legally sold under the names Vanilla Sky, Aura, Hurricane Charlie, Ivory Wave, and many others. To get around laws that would make bath salts illegal, manufacturers label them “not for human consumption” and sometimes market them as plant food or other seemingly harmless products.
The active chemicals in bath salts are mephedrone and MDPV, but there is currently no reliable way to test for these drugs. At least 35 states have banned ingredients found in bath salts, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is considering making these drugs controlled as Schedule I drugs, like heroin and ecstasy, but teens still have easy access to these drugs.
Bath salts can make a psychotic teen perfectly “normal,” literally. Doctors across the country have been shocked to see their emergency rooms flooded with delusional and violent teenagers consuming bath salts. Teenagers have dangerously high fevers, high blood pressure, a fast heartbeat, and muscle restlessness so severe that it can lead to kidney failure. In addition to being highly addictive, these drugs can cause heart attacks, seizures, muscle damage, strokes, and even death.
After being treated with heavy sedatives and antipsychotics in some cases, teenagers sometimes end up in the psychiatric hospital because the bath salts made them so violent, paranoid and out of touch with reality. Even after days of being sedated, the psychosis can return, leading some to fear that the effects of these drugs may be permanent.
Teen Drug Trend #2: Kratom
Kratom is the newest drug gaining popularity among US teens. Derived from a plant found in Southeast Asia, kratom has been used for a variety of medicinal purposes in other countries. Kratom is sold as leaves, powder, extract, or capsules, and can be swallowed, drunk as a tea, or inhaled as a powder.
Kratom is not controlled by the DEA and goes by the names of Thom, Kakuam, Biak, Thang or Ketum. The effects of kratom range from alertness, increased energy, and weight loss (in small doses) to relaxation, dry mouth, sweating, and reduced sensitivity to pain (in large doses). The drug kicks in within minutes of use, producing a mild high that typically lasts two to five hours.
Although legal and readily available, kratom is addictive. Once addicted, adolescents who stop using kratom may experience withdrawal symptoms such as cold symptoms, depression, diarrhea, and insomnia. In an effort to cope with these withdrawal symptoms or amplify the high, teens may start using harder drugs or mixing kratom with alcohol or other drugs.
Teen Drug Trend #3: Spice/K2
Another drug that has probably found its way into your community is Spice, also known as K2, skunk, or J-dub. Spice is a mixture of herbs sprayed with a powerful psychotropic drug that contains synthetic cannabinoids. The drug affects the same receptors in the brain as marijuana (hence the name “legal marijuana”), but Spice can be up to 10 times stronger than marijuana, producing a high that typically lasts an hour or two after smoking .
Spice has taken many teenagers to the emergency room. May cause vomiting, agitation, panic attacks, hallucinations, seizures, high blood pressure, paranoia, and elevated heart rate.
Despite these dangers, Spice is legally sold as “incense” or “potpourri” in toiletries stores and on the Internet. Some states have banned Spice, but teens continue to find ways to get around the law by buying the drug online. Because Spice doesn’t show up on drug tests, many parents falsely believe their teens are drug-free.
Teen Drug Trend #4: Salvia
Salvia is a powerful hallucinogenic herb that is used as often as Ecstasy and even more so than LSD, according to The New York Times. The drug comes in a variety of forms, including seeds, leaves or liquid extract, and takes effect in seconds if smoked.
Salvia affects a different area of the brain than other drugs such as opiates or other hallucinogens. The experience is not a “high” but an altered sense of reality, sometimes unsettling. Salvia is abused by adolescents for its intense but short-lived hallucinogenic properties. Other effects include disconnection from reality, dizziness, the feeling of being in many places at the same time, and strange sensations of “hearing” colors and “seeing” sounds.
Salvia is currently not regulated by the DEA, although it is considered a drug of concern. Several states have regulated Salvia, but the process is slow to catch up with the severity of the problem.
Teen Drug Trend #5: Prescription Drugs
Teen prescription drug abuse isn’t “new,” but it’s so pervasive and so dangerous that it deserves a place in the top five drug trends among teens. There are as many new users of pain relievers as there are of marijuana, according to SAMHSA’s 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). prescribed as marijuana.
The most popular prescription drugs abused by teens are pain relievers like OxyContin and Vicodin, but a significant number of teens also abuse stimulants and depressants. In most cases, teens get prescription drugs for free from a friend or family member. Because they are legal when prescribed by a doctor, teens believe prescription drugs are less dangerous and less likely to get them in trouble with their parents or the law.
The consequences of teen prescription drug abuse can be just as severe and life-threatening as illicit drugs like heroin and cocaine. Pain reliever abuse can cause teens to stop breathing. Depressant abuse can result in decreased heart rate, depressed breathing, and seizures. Stimulant abuse has caused heart failure, high body temperature, irregular heartbeat, and seizures. These effects are made worse when teens take prescription medications with alcohol or other drugs.
Every day, 2,500 youth ages 12 to 17 abuse a prescription pain reliever for the first time (NSDUH, 2007). Drug use starts early: 13 is the median age for stimulant and sedative abuse, and more than half of teens who have abused prescription painkillers first tried them before age 15. to combat drug addiction in adulthood.
you are not powerless
What all of these drugs have in common is that they are easy to obtain, hard to detect, and are legal in certain ways. Because there is such a strong demand for these drugs, experts believe that we will continue to see new variations of designer drugs for years to come.
Talk to your teen early and often about the dangers of drugs, whether legal or illegal, and be vigilant about protecting your medications and setting clear expectations for your teen’s behavior and attitudes toward drugs. Drug tendencies come and go, but the one your teen is drawn to could affect her life forever.