Experienced parents understand which fads come and go. Something which ignites teen fever a single day may fizzle into nothing some weeks later.
But in regards to teen drug use, trendy designer drugs can easily be just as dangerous as the substances we've been warned regarding with regard to decades. Even those that quickly lose their appeal certainly considered one among teens 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 simply have since become a serious concern among law enforcement, hospitals, drug rehabs and parents. According for the American Association of Poison Take over Centers, calls regarding bath salts are up from 303 in all of 2010 to 3,470 between January and June of 2011.
Bath salts are stimulants similar to meth and cocaine, however they are being sold legally under the names Vanilla Sky, Aura, Hurricane Charlie, Ivory Wave and many others. To get close to the laws which would make bath salts illegal, manufacturers label them "not regarding human consumption" and sometimes market them as plant food or even other seemingly innocuous products.
The active chemicals in bath salts are mephedrone and MDPV, but there is currently no reliable way to test with regard to these drugs. At least 35 states have banned ingredients found in bath salts and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is considering creating these types of drugs controlled Schedule I drugs such as heroin and ecstasy, but teens are still easily accessing these drugs.
Bath salts may produce a perfectly "normal" teen psychotic - literally. Physicians throughout the country have been shocked to see their emergency rooms inundated by delusional, violent teens who are high on bath salts. Teens show with dangerously high fevers, high blood pressure, racing heartbeat and muscle agitation so severe it can lead to kidney failure. Additionally to being highly addictive, these types of drugs can easily result in heart attack, seizures, muscle damage, stroke and even death.
After being treated with heavy sedatives and antipsychotics in some cases, adolescents sometimes end up in the psychiatric hospital because the bath salts created them so violent, paranoid and out of touch with reality. Even after days of being sedated, the psychosis can easily come back, causing several to fear which the effects of the drugs can easily become permanent.
Teen Drug Trend #2: Kratom
Kratom is the newest drug gaining popularity one of teens in the U.S. Derived from a plant found in southeast Asia, kratom was used with regard to a variety of medicinal purposes in other nations. Kratom is sold in the form of leaves, powder, extract or perhaps capsules, and can end up being swallowed, drank being a tea or even snorted as a powder.
Kratom is not controlled by the DEA and is known by the names Thom, Kakuam, Biak, Thang or Ketum. The effects of kratom vary 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 takes response within minutes of use, creating a mild high that usually lasts 2 to 5 hours.
Even though it is legal and readily accessible, kratom is addictive. Once addicted, teens who stop playing with kratom may experience withdrawal signs or indicators such as cold-like symptoms, depressive disorders, diarrhea and insomnia. In an effort to cope with these withdrawal signs or indicators or perhaps to amplify the high, teens can easily begin using harder drugs or even mixing kratom with alcohol or even other drugs.
Teen Drug Trend #3: Spice / K2
Another drug that has likely made its way into your community is Spice, also known as K2, skunk or J-dub. Spice is a blend of herbs sprayed with a potent psychotropic drug which contains synthetic cannabinoids. The drug impacts the same receptors in the brain as marijuana (hence the name "legal marijuana"), however Spice may become as much as 10 times stronger compared to marijuana, creating a high which generally lasts 1 to two hours after smoking.
Spice has landed many adolescents in the emergency room. It may result in vomiting, agitation, panic attacks, hallucinations, seizures, high blood pressure, paranoia and elevated heart rate.
Despite these kinds of dangers, Spice is legally sold as "incense" or perhaps "potpourri" in head shops and on the Internet. Some states simply have banned Spice however teens continue to find ways to skirt the laws by buying the drug online. Because Spice does not show up on drug polls, many parents falsely think that their teens are drug-free.
Teen Drug Trend #4: Salvia
Salvia is a powerful hallucinogenic herb that is being used as frequently as Ecstasy and even more usually than LSD, according to the New York Times. The drug comes in a variety of forms, including seeds, leaves or perhaps liquid extract, and takes reaction within seconds if smoked.
Salvia alters a different area of the brain than other drugs like opiates or perhaps other hallucinogens. The feeling just isnt a "high" however a at times disturbing altered sense of reality. Teens abuse salvia regarding its intense yet short-lived hallucinogenic properties. Other effects include disconnectedness from reality, dizziness, a sense of being in many places at 1 period, and bizarre sensations of "hearing" colors and "seeing" sounds.
Salvia just isnt currently regulated by the DEA, though it is considered a drug of concern. A number of states simply have regulated Salvia, yet the process is slow to catch as much as the severity of these problem.
Teen Drug Trend #5: Prescription Drugs
Teen prescription drug abuse just isnt "new," yet is so pervasive, therefore dangerous, that it merits a put in the top 5 teen drug trends. There are as many new abusers of painkillers as there are of marijuana, according to SAMHSA's 2007 National Survey on Drug Use & Health (NSDUH). This kind of means which when your teen is deciding which drug to try, they're as likely to try prescription drugs as they will are marijuana.
The most most visited prescription drugs abused by teens are painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin, yet a significant number of teens abuse stimulants and depressants as properly. In the majority of cases, teens obtain prescription drugs regarding free from a friend or perhaps relative. Because these people are legal when prescribed by a physician, teens believe prescription drugs are less dangerous and less likely to obtain them in trouble with parents or even the law.
The consequences of teen prescription drug abuse may be as severe and life-threatening as illicit drugs like heroin and cocaine. Painkiller abuse may cause teens to stop breathing. Abuse of depressants can easily trigger decreased heart rate, stressed out breathing and seizures. Stimulant abuse has caused coronary center (heart) failure, high body temperature, irregular heart rate and seizures. These types of effects are worsened when teens take prescription drugs with alcohol or even other drugs.
Every day, 2,500 youth ages 12 to 17 abuse a prescription painkiller regarding the first period (NSDUH, 2007). Drug use starts young - 13 is the mean age regarding abuse of stimulants and sedatives, and more compared to half of teens who have abused prescription pain relievers first tried them before age 15. Studies display that the earlier drug use begins, the more likely teens are to struggle with drug addiction in adulthood.
You Are Not Powerless
What all of those drugs have in common is that they are easy to get, difficult to detect and are legal in specific forms. Because there is a strong demand with regard to these drugs, experts believe we will continue to see new variations on designer drugs in the years to come.
Talk with your teen early and frequently concerning the dangers of drugs, whether legal or even illegal, and become vigilant concerning safeguarding your medications and setting clear expectations with regard to your own child's routines and attitudes around drugs. Drug trends come and go, yet the one that sweeps up your own teen could impact their life forever.