Mexxy, the follow up to Ketamine

Some more interesting news from the chemical dependency counseling community over at Drugs-Forum.com. Today it seems the UK is banning Mexxy a "legal high" that is undergoing addiction physiology advisors to see if this deserves a permanent ban...  

"Mexxy will be made illegal for up to 12 months while the Government's drugs advisers decide whether it should be permanently controlled.

It follows concerns that two people whose bodies were found in Leicestershire in February may have taken some form of the drug after buying it over the internet.

Anyone caught making, supplying or importing the drug will face up to 14 years in prison and an unlimited fine under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, the Home Office said.

Police and border officials will also be allowed to search or detain anyone they suspect of having the drug and seize, keep or dispose of a substance they suspect is mexxy.

Crime Prevention Minister Lord Henley said: "Making this drug illegal sends a clear message to users and those making and supplying it that we are stepping up our fight against substances which are dangerous and ruin the lives of victims and their families.

"But making drugs illegal is only part of the solution. 

"It is important for users of these harmful substances to understand that just because they are described as legal highs, it does not mean they are safe or should be seen as a 'safer' alternative to illegal substances."

Since the drugs was referred to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) earlier this month, the advisers have presented further evidence that its use can lead to "significant additional toxicity", including agitation, a faster heart rate and higher blood pressure, as well as unsteadiness on the feet.

Such symptoms are rarely seen with ketamine or other recreational drugs, the advisers said.

Professor Les Iversen, chairman of the ACMD, said: "The evidence shows that the use of methoxetamine can cause harm to users.

"Many of the health effects of methoxetamine are similar to those of ketamine, which is already controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

"Users have also reported experiencing other serious effects including agitation, cardiovascular conditions and hypertension."

Police warned people not to take mexxy, which was advertised and sold as a safe alternative to the class C drug ketamine, after the bodies of a 59-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man were found in Leicester and Melton Mowbray on February 11 and 12 respectively.

The Telegraph
28 March, 2012
(no author credit given)

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...ew-powers.html

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Amphetamine Drug that could potentially a treat Cocaine Addiction

This was an interesting article posted on SoberLiving.com and it's quite relavent to the chemical dependency counsleing community. 

"Provigil, which is the brand name for the drug Modafinil, is one of a class of medications referred to as wakefulness promoting agents.

Provigil is used for the treatment of excessive sleepiness due to narcolepsy, work shift disorder and obstructive sleep apnea.  A 2009 study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that the drug stimulates the brain's dopamine centers. The drug's dopamine effect is similar to that of Ritalin, making it a potential substance for abuse.  

The Poster Child for "Off Label" Drug Experimentation

In the U.S., Modafinil is only approved by FDA for the treatment of lack of sleep due to sleep disorders.  However, the drug is being tried for a wide range of off-label applications, including the treatment of fatigue and depression.  It has been studied as a potential treatment for fatigue symptoms of multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Provigil/Modafinil was featured in a documentary called Off Label which was about the "non approved" or "non intended" use of medications.

Cephalon, the maker of Provigil, applied for FDA approval for modafinil as a treatment for ADHD in children and teenagers ages 6 through 17.  The application was denied in 2006, with the FDA citing concerns about several test subjects who were affected by serious skin rashes.  Cephalon is reported to have discontinued research into modafinil as an ADHD treatment for children; there is still some potential for its use in treating adults with ADHD.

Provigil Treatment for Cocaine Addiction

Experiments have been conducted to determine if Modafinil could be an effective treatment for cocaine dependence, but the results have so far been inconclusive.  Since Modafinil is a stimulant that decreases the appetite without typically increasing the heart rate, there have also been studies to see if it could be used as a weight loss aid.

Modafinil has been the subject of negative publicity due to its reported use as a doping agent for professional athletes, including sprinter Kelli White and cyclist David Clinger. In 2004, it was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of prohibited substances. 

Abusing Provigil like Ritalin and Adderall

There is also some controversy associated with Provigil's use as a cognitive enhancer for people who are not suffering from sleep deprivation.  According to Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on drug Abuse, there are currently no statistics related to the number of people who are using Modafinil as a brain booster.  Dr. Volkow warns that healthy people who take Modafinil are at risk of serious adverse side effects, including psychotic episodes and suicidal thoughts. "

Source: http://www.soberliving.com/blog/2012/03/26/provigil-modafinil-cocaine-treatme...

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UK Government Commissions Ketamine Review

This is another Drug tied in with "Legal Highs" and the chemical dependency counseling community is working hard to see bans passed out for it. 

"The government has commissioned an independent review into the Class C drug ketamine following concerns about the harm it causes.

Home Secretary Theresa May has asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to update its advice on the illegal substance.
The Home Secretary said: 'Our annual work programme sets out the government’s priorities for tackling drug issues over the coming year.
'We are becoming increasingly concerned by new evidence and heightened public concern about the popularity and potential harms of ketamine, which is why I have asked the council to revisit its earlier advice on the drug.'

Alongside this review, the ACMD will continue to work on its other priorities including promoting recovery, monitoring new psychoactive substances ('legal highs') and reviews into khat, cocaine and polysubstance use (where more than one substance is taken by a user).

The council is also considering recommending a banning order on the 'legal high' methoxetamine – a substance being sold as a 'safe ketamine'.

Tuesday, 13 Mar 2012
Source: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/media-centre/news/ketamine-review "

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Synthetic May Be More Dangerous

Spice has been around since the 90s, but it hadn't gone mainstream until the mid-later 2000s. While the chemical dependency counseling still remains neutral on the Marijuana subject, spice is a much more dangerous drug. 

"(CNN) -- It may not be marijuana, but its effects are just as potent. A new report in this week's edition of the journal Pediatrics finds more emergency rooms across the United States are seeing an increase in patients who have used synthetic marijuana.

 

 

Known as K2, Spice, Mr. Smiley and Blaze, the product can have similar but sometimes more serious consequences than marijuana? These synthetic cannabinoids are a blend of plant and herbal materials that have been sprayed with chemicals, which produce a certain toxicity.

 

Sold in such places at gas stations, convenience stores and on the Internet, the synthetic marijuana produce euphoric and psychoactive effects similar to those associated with marijuana. But doctors say there are additional side effects that may be particularly dangerous. The drug can leave patients catatonic and listless. And what makes matters worse, very little is known about Synthetic marijuana or how to treat an adverse reaction or overdose.

 

"When we suspected the use of synthetic marijuana in these patients, we soon realized that there is little information about this drug in the medical literature," said Dr. Joanna Cohen, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and the lead author of the paper. "Because it is a relatively new drug," Cohen notes, "we should be aware of the symptoms and make a concerted effort to share our experiences in treating patients so we can develop best practices."

 

The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported 4,500 calls involving synthetic cannabinoid toxicity from 2010 to 2011. The drug is difficult to detect, because it does not show up on routine drugs tests. Further lab work is needed to find if a person is using it. The study authors recommend lab studies that include a comprehensive screening (electrolytes, urine test, blood alcohol level) since many drugs are often used together.

 

Because little research has been done on these products, pediatricians are concerned about the drugs' effects on the teenage brain. Experts predict the synthetic drug may go so far as to effect memory loss and psychosis, if it's used over a long period of time

 

If you're a parent and suspect your child may be using synthetic marijuana, look for these signs: Excessive sweating, agitation, inability to speak, aggression and restlessness. If a teen is showing these symptoms, doctors recommend you seek medical attention for your child immediately.

Copyright CNN 2012

 

Source: http://www.wapt.com/health/30707525/detail.html#ixzz1pm8wMzAA"

 

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"Legal High" Raids

This is a perfect example of how real the "Legal High" threat really is to everyone. From kids to adults, the chemical dependency counseling community has been letting people know that everyone is exposed to these items we can easily mistake for household items. 

"Lincolnshire Police and Trading Standards have executed search warrants at two shops in Lincoln which they believe may be selling controlled drugs as "legal highs".

The action comes in response to a number of young people seeking hospital treatment after taking so called "legal highs" bought from premises like these. Many have suffered frightening symptoms like a racing heart beat, breathing difficulties, swollen and constricted airways and anxiety.

Cannabis substitutes and powder drugs are packaged, called appealing names and often marketed as legal, or "research chemicals – not for human consumption."
They are openly sold over the counter to teenagers, students and young professionals, who police believe are buying them, thinking they are legal and safe. Police and Trading Standards officers believe this represents a huge health risk to young people in the city.

Detective Inspector Simon Lovett said: "Our main aim is to raise awareness among young people and parents and to send a very clear message to anyone thinking of peddling harmful products marketed as "legal highs" in Lincolnshire – we will not tolerate it.
"Several young people have been made extremely ill by these drugs and have required hospital treatment. People buying these substances have no idea what they are putting in their bodies and they are risking their lives. This is not an exaggeration - there have been several well documented deaths related to amphetamine based substances similar to mephedrone in the UK.

"We would urge anyone who has previously bought and consumed these products to cease immediately."

Police arrested a 41-year-old local man, a 25-year-old local man and a 44-year-old local woman in connection with these warrants. They are helping police with their enquiries. Investigations are ongoing in this case. The recovered substances will be sent off for analysis and updates will follow when appropriate.

Video Link:
http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/loc...d=11506&page=1

Source: http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/...ail/story.html
Thursday, March 15, 2012

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Bath Salts and New Difficulties

This article is from the Betty Ford Center and gives their views as well as a large majority of the chemical dependency counseling communities view. This addiction physiology article goes over Bath Salts and more of the difficulties they are bringing to addiction recovery. 

"A legal high with an innocuous name is the latest drug bringing young people into addiction treatment.

 “Even though they may be labeled ‘not for human consumption’, bath salts can be obtained without prescription or legal oversight,” said Dr. Peter Przekop, DO, Ph.D. of the Betty Ford Center.   “The people marketing the drug are gearing their appeal to youths – especial young male adults with a previous history of substance abuse.”

 The drug first appeared in Europe in 2006 and showed up in the United States three years later.  Bath salts are often synthesized in India and China and can take many forms:  white, odorless, fine-powder;   tan, brown powdery substance; colorless oil or clear gelatin capsules.  The effect is similar to that brought about by Ecstasy, methamphetamine or cocaine.   Common names for the drug include:  Blue silk, charge+, ivory wave, ocean burst, pure ivory, purple wave, snow leopard, stardust, vanilla sky, white dove, white knight, white lightening and blizzard. 

 Adverse cardiac effects include chest pain, palpitations, shortness of breath and heart attack.  Psychiatric effects include anger, anxiety visual and auditory hallucinations, depression, fatigue, panic, paranoia concentration and memory problems.  Neurologically, the user may experience aggressiveness, dizziness, headache, tremor and seizure.

Bath salts have been banned in many European nations, and – as of September 15 2011 – 37 states have followed suit.  On October 21 2011, the chemicals mephedrone, methylone, and MDPV were deemed a potential hazard, and the drug is considered a Schedule 1 substance.  This means there is a high potential for abuse; there is no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and there is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.  It cannot be distributed, manufactured, possessed, imported or exported without special licensure.

In 2010, there were 303 calls to the poison control center for bath salts.  That number escalated to 2,371 calls on record by May of 2011.

“The emergent of this drug has been recent, and it’s grown quickly in popularity,” said Dr. Przekop.  “There is widespread availability, and in 2009-2010, online searches surpassed those for cocaine and MDMA.

“Drug addiction treatment can become imperative once an addictive level of abuse is reached with bath salts.  It is critically important for family members as well as treatment professionals to educate themselves about this new threat.”"

Source: http://www.bettyfordcenter.org/recovery/featured-home/bath-salts-presents-new...

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NYC Hacker Involved with Drug Dealing

This is an interesting story behind the internet hacker "Sabu" who may have done some good things, but got caught up in drugs like many others. This story is a neutral one for the chemical dependency counseling community, but you can decide how you look at it... 

"NEW YORK (AP) - The American computer hacker who shook the Internet underground by becoming an FBI informant didn't just break the law on the Web: He also carried a gun and was involved in drug dealing.

Court documents unsealed this week show that in exchange for his cooperation, federal prosecutors agreed not to prosecute hacker Hector Xavier Monsegur for a litany of other crimes he admitted committing over the years, including his attempted sale of a pound of marijuana in 2010 and another 4 pounds in 2003.

They also agreed not to pursue charges for other crimes, including gun possession, purchasing stolen jewelry and electronics, running up $15,000 on a former employer's credit card and referring people seeking prescription pain pills to illegal drug suppliers. The court papers said Monsegur would also avoid prosecution for hacking into the website of an online casino.

Monsegur, who was known on the Internet as a shadowy figure called "Sabu," signed the cooperation agreement on Aug. 15. By then, he had already been working closely with the FBI for two months, often pulling late hours exchanging messages with fellow hackers while federal agents watched.

The 28-year-old New Yorker, who operated from a sixth-floor apartment in a dilapidated city housing project, has already pleaded guilty to a string of computer crimes, including conspiring with the "hacktivist" groups Anonymous, Internet Feds and Lulzsec, and breaking into the websites of media and Internet security companies.

His cooperation with federal agents led to five arrests, announced this week, and the breakup of Lulzsec, a group he had helped create.

Monsegur's deal with prosecutors could still leave him exposed to substantial jail time. The agreement, filed with the court in August but not made public until Friday, said he faced a minimum mandatory sentence of up to two years in jail, and more than 122 years in prison if a judge gave him the maximum punishment for every count.

His extensive work with the FBI, however, makes a harsh sentence like that extremely unlikely.

If Monsegur continues to work with the government, prosecutors agreed to dismiss many other charges against him, including allegations that he hacked into the computer systems at PayPal, Visa and Mastercard, attacked website sites operated by the governments of Tunisia, Yemen, Algeria and Zimbabwe, and was involved in cyber assaults that attempted to cripple the websites of several global media and entertainment companies.

Lastly, the deal said that if Monsegur began fearing for his own safety, he might be enrolled in the federal witness protection program, and his "family and certain loved ones ... relocated under a new identity."

"It is understood that the defendant's truthful cooperation with this office is likely to reveal activities of certain individuals who might use violence, force and intimidation against the defendant, his family and loved ones," the agreement said.

Monsegur's lawyers have repeatedly declined requests for comment, and attempts to reach him have been unsuccessful."

Ventura County Star 10th March 2012 
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/mar/...-drug-dealing/

 

Source: http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=179711

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India's illicit opium farms much bigger than estimated....

This is the kind of news that the chemical dependency counseling community does not enjoy reading about. It may not seems like a big deal if you live in the U.S, but with more and more opium farms springing up, you get a larger circulation of hard drugs. 

"Latest high resolution satellite imageries have indicated that all previous estimates of poppy cultivations in India have been gross underestimations. The actual areas growing poppy for manufacturing of illicit drugs like heroin, morphine may be six times more than previously estimated

"The usage of high resolution data indicates the acreage estimation by interpreting medium resolution images is not accurate. The estimates from medium resolution images appear to be gross underestimation by approximately by a factor of 6. It means the actual illicit cultivations of poppy are expected to be six times more than what has been predicted so far," the Economic Intelligence Council chaired by the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee was informed on February 28.

The Advanced Data Processing Research Institute (ADRIN) had acquired high resolution multispectral data for a portion of West Bengal, which was analysed. So far, all estimates were based on medium resolution imagery.

Under the department of space, ADRIN is mandated to carry out satellite surveys to locate illicit poppy farms and determine the acreage.

The acreage estimates for ten states - Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Karnataka, J&K, Bihar, Orissa and Himachal Pradesh - for the years 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-11 were estimated at 14,200, 10,851 and 15,598 acre respectively. These figures will see a drastic rise if high resolution imagery is used.

Legally, opium is cultivated in India in about 15,000 acre with strict controls in place.

Based on inputs from the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Central Bureau of Narcotics, ADRIN determines the coordinates and ensures positioning of the satellites for detection followed by verification and destruction."

Sanjib Kr Baruah, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, March 04, 2012

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-...e1-820798.aspx

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Drugged Driver Crashes Increase

This was a great post from Sober Livings By the Sea and they really are helping people raise awareness about something that many in the chemical dependency counseling community look over. 

"More and more drugged drivers are becoming involved in fatal crashes in California.

We've written about the costs of NOT quitting drinking actually being much higher than the cost of treatment.

We've also written about the incredibly strong punishment for 3rd DUI in California.

But none of this is seeming to change people's attitudes toward drinking and driving.

According to figures recently released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 30 percent of all drivers who were killed in accidents in 2010 in California were found to be under the influence of one or more legal or illegal drugs.  Many additional accidents were probably caused by drugged drivers who survived and were not tested.  

At the same time that the problem of drugged drivers is growing, the number of people killed or injured by drunk drivers is on the decline across the U.S.  Experts attribute this to the campaign against drunk driving and strict laws that send repeat drunk drivers to jail.  In contrast, there is limited public awareness about the dangers of drugged driving. 

All types of drugs can impair driving, from illegal stimulants and narcotics to prescription and over-the-counter medications. 

Despite the fact that marijuana has been legalized for medical purposes in California and several other states, it also causes serious driver impairment.  Drivers who are under the influence of drugs experience impaired motor skills, reaction time, memory and judgment.  Impairment is heightened when alcohol is used in combination with marijuana and other drugs.

Although statistics show an increase in traffic fatalities due to drugged driving, California lawmakers have not yet enacted legislation similar to DUI laws.  This is due in part to the fact that roadside tests for drug impairment are not available.  With alcohol, a breathalyzer test can quickly reveal a driver's blood alcohol level and determine if it is within the legal limit for driving.  Similar tests and legal limits are not available for legal and illegal drugs.

The California Office of Traffic Safety and the Highway Patrol are teaming up to provide officers with additional training to help identify and arrest drug-impaired drivers. Local police departments are encouraged to send officers to training to become Drug Recognition Experts (DREs).  There are currently more than 1,000 DREs in the state.  These experts are used at DUI checkpoints to detect drivers who are under the influence of drugs.  In addition, Sacramento and Orange Counties were recently given federal funding to be used for additional drug testing equipment.  

In 2010, six California cities conducted roadside tests that involved drivers who voluntarily provided oral fluids for anonymous testing. The results of the tests showed that 8.4% of drivers tested positive for marijuana compared to 7.6% who tested positive for alcohol.  This is one clear indicator of the magnitude of California's drugged driver problem."

Source: http://www.soberliving.com/blog/2012/03/02/drugged-drivers-cause-more-fatal-c...

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