Drug Known as Smiles and N-Bomb Gaining in Popularity Among Teens

Apr 24, 2014

Drug type: Synthetic Drugs

In recent months, more reports have surfaced of teens using the drug 25i, commonly known as “smiles” or “N-Bomb”, and often resulting in grave medical consequences. Part of a family of drugs known as phenethylamines, this synthetic drug promises young adults a high similar to LSD or other hallucinogens, but can be extremely dangerous, sometimes leading to death.

Just this week, authorities in Loudoun County, Va. responded to several medical emergencies of teens under the influence of 25i. In addition, police in Michigan City, Ind. sent out an alert on the drug to members of the community after the drug was used by teens over spring break.

Between March 2012 and August 2013, at least 19 young adults were reported to have died from taking the drug. Data show that in 2006 only 12 states reported emergency department cases involving 25i, compared to 32 states reporting cases in 2010. The frequency of reported cases also intensified, with only three states reporting more than six cases in 2006, compared to 12 states reporting over six cases in 2010. 

Synthetic drugs are difficult for law enforcement agencies to regulate, because of the constantly evolving formulas manufacturers use to avoid prosecution. In November 2013, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) made three varieties of NBOMe drugs, including smiles, illegal for two years under the Controlled Substances Act. A DEA spokesperson noted that sources are more quickly able to modify their formulas and share this information online, making the evolution of drugs a much faster process, and more difficult to regulate. 

25i has psychedelic effects that mimic LSD, but is in the class of phenylethylamines, which share many properties to amphetamines. The drug is particularly difficult to identify, as it can be a liquid, a powder, laced into paper, and even mixed into edible goods. The death of a 17-year-old in North Dakota was linked to a supply of the drug which had been melted into chocolate.  

Smiles has the potential negative side-effects of LSD and other hallucinogens, such as anxiety, psychosis, and frightening hallucinations. However, the drug is doubly dangerous because it also acts as a stimulant, potentially causing nausea, vomiting, irregular heartbeat, respiratory arrest, cardiac arrest, and seizures.

Another danger of synthetic drugs is they are often sold as derivatives or replacements for more commonly known drugs, often without the customer’s knowledge. This was the case for an 18-year-old Arizona high school student who died from nasally taking a liquid form of 2c-I-NBOMe, believing it was LSD. Synthetic drugs are frequently more potent and unpredictable than some illegal street drugs.

Despite the risks, there are many reasons these drugs appeal to teens and young adults. Because the drugs are initially legal, many teens assume this means that they are safe, rather than the reality that they are unregulated and unpredictable. The drugs are also sold online, marketed as household products or laboratory chemicals, making them easy to obtain. Standard drug tests are not designed to detect these products, making them appealing for those who fear being caught. 

It is important for CADCA coalitions to reach out to teens, and to explain the dangers posed by 25i and other synthetic drugs. Untested, unregulated, and constantly evolving, these drugs demonstrate a variety of challenges for communities and law enforcement.

Study Finds Even Casual Marijuana Use Changes the Brain

Heavy marijuana use has been linked with impaired motivation, attention, learning and memory, but common beliefs maintain that casual use of the drug does not result in any negative outcomes. Now, a new study suggests young adults who smoke marijuana at least once a week have altered areas of the brain involved in emotion and motivation. The study was reported in Medical News Today.

The researchers, from Northwestern University and Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, published their results in the Journal of Neuroscience. 

The researchers, including Jodi Gilman, PhD, used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to analyze the brains of 40 subjects between the ages of 18 and 25 years old who smoked marijuana at least once per week. They then compared these brain scans with the scans of individuals with little or no history of marijuana use. 

Each marijuana user was asked to estimate his or her drug intake over a 3-month period, providing the number of days and amount they smoked. 

Psychiatric evaluation ruled out the chance that the marijuana users were dependent on the drug, however, the MRI images showed "significant" brain differences. 

Compared with the non-smokers, the marijuana users had a larger nucleus accumbens - the brain region involved in reward processing. Additionally, it had an altered shape and structure in the brains of the marijuana users. 

And the more marijuana the smokers used, the greater the abnormalities in both the nucleus accumbens and the amygdala, a region involved in emotion. 

Dr. Hans Breiter, a co-author of the study, says their findings raise "a strong challenge to the idea that casual marijuana use isn't associated with bad consequences." 

"Abnormal neuronal growth in the nucleus accumbens could be an indication that the brain is forming new connections that may encourage further use of marijuana. The study results fit with animal studies that show when rats are given THC, their brains rewire and form many new connections. It may be that we're seeing a type of drug learning in the brain," Dr. Breiter said.

SEE ALSO:

New Research Links Long-Term Marijuana Use to Schizophrenia
http://www.cadca.org/resources/detail/new-research-links-long-term-marijuana-use-schizophrenia

Marijuana Smoking Determined to Permanently Lower One’s IQ
http://www.cadca.org/resources/detail/marijuana-smoking-determined-permanently-lower-one%E2%80%99s-iq

Alcohol Awareness Month Highlights Harmful Impact of Underage Drinking

Alcohol-free block parties are being planned. Social networking pages are filling up with tweets and posts about alcohol abuse and prevention, and local police stations and community organizers are hosting family information nights. Why? Because April is the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.’ (NCADD) Alcohol Awareness Month. And CADCA coalitions nationwide are joining NCADD affiliates, schools, colleges, churches, and countless community organizations in sponsoring events that increase public awareness and educate people about the treatment and prevention of alcoholism.

With this year’s theme “Help for Today, Hope for Tomorrow,” NCADD specifically highlights underage drinking, a public health issue directly associated with traffic fatalities, violence, suicide, educational failure, alcohol overdose, unsafe sex and other problem behaviors. Annually, over 6,500 people under the age of 21 die from alcohol-related accidents and thousands more are injured. Alcohol is the number one drug of choice for America’s young people and is more likely to kill them than all illegal drugs combined. So reducing underage drinking is critical to securing a healthy future for America’s youth.

But excessive drinking affects all Americans, whether or not they drink. Alcohol problems cost the United States $224 billion in 2006, primarily from lost productivity, but also from health care and property damage costs. 

CADCA has developed several resources to help you educate your community about the dangers of excessive and underage drinking and regulating alcohol outlet density. 

They include the following:
•    College and Drinking:  A Risky Curriculum Discussion Guide provides facts about college and drinking, questions, quotes and reflections to stimulate discussion. 
•    Regulating Alcohol Outlet Density: An Action Guide outlines available evidence-based community prevention strategies that decrease the consequences associated with alcohol outlet density in a given geographic area. 
•    Videos on Reducing Underage and Excessive Drinking.
Also, here are some NCADD-suggested Alcohol Awareness Month ideas to raise community awareness about alcohol use while encouraging people to make healthy and safe choices:

• Organize a “Help for Today, Hope for Tomorrow” 5k walk/run.
• Recognize, publicly, young people and community members who lead drug-free lifestyles.
• Partner with local businesses for alcohol-free youth events or promotions.
• Hold a community town hall meeting on underage drinking.
• Organize an Alcohol Awareness parade or rally.
• Plan an Alcohol Awareness Month luncheon at a local hospital with guest speakers from the health community. 

New Survey Shows Importance of No Alcohol Message for Teens

New data from a national survey of high school students shows that teens who receive a message from their parents that underage drinking is completely unacceptable are more than 80 percent less likely to drink than teens who receive other messages. The survey, and correspondinginfographic, was released this week by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Nationwide Insurance®.

The data was released in conjunction with PowerTalk 21 day—April 21st—the national day for parents to talk with their teens about alcohol. Download the latest version of the parent handbook for tips and tools to help parents start the potentially lifesaving conversation about alcohol with their teens.

This year, MADD will host free 30-minute online discussions throughout day on April 21st for parents and caregivers to learn the best way to talk with your teens, so that they really listen.  Find out more and register now at www.madd.org/powertalk21.

Each year, about 4,700 people die as a result of underage drinking. The Power of Parents program equips parents with the tools to have the sometimes difficult, but potentially lifesaving conversations with their teens about the dangers of alcohol.

“It’s crucial for parents to have ongoing, intentional conversations with their teens about alcohol, but it’s also important to make sure the message they’re sending is clear — no alcohol before 21,” said Bill Windsor, Nationwide Insurance Associate Vice President of Consumer Safety. “Nationwide has teamed up with MADD to give parents the tools they need to keep their children and others safe.”

Developed with Robert Turrisi, Ph.D, professor and researcher at Pennsylvania State University, the Power of Parents workshops and supporting handbook are based on his more than two decades of underage drinking research, and have been shown to significantly reduce underage drinking behaviors.

To see where workshops and activities are happening, or for conversation starters, tips and the Power of Parents handbook, visit www.madd.org/powertalk21.