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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Psychedelic Drug 2C-I “Smiles” on the rise this year despite several deaths

Vista Bay reviews one of the trendy synthetic drugs known as “smiles,” which has become popular among teenagers this year regardless of its fatal side effects. 2C-I, or smiles, comes from the 2C family, which means that it belongs to
psychedelic phenethylamines, which are basically amphetamine drugs that are produced with different chemical combinations in order to produce stronger psychedelic effects when taken by the user.

This drug, which has the legal name 2C-I, was first synthesized by drug developer Alexander Shulgin, who also promoted MDMA (ecstasy) and published the recipe of 2C-I in his book “PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story.” The information in the book wasn’t clearly communicated to the general public, since it involved expert chemical terms; however, the DEA have since found that the book is being used as a guide in clandestine labs, where the drug is produced illegally. This resulted in the termination of Shulgin’s license to work with scheduled drugs at that time.

As other synthetic drugs are easily compared with bath salts (synthetic marijuana), up until recently the ingredients contained within 2C-I were legal and it wasn’t until the enactment of the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 that the possession, manufacture and distribution of the drug was banned—nine years after the EU, who had banned the drug back in 2003.

The unfortunate fact is that this drug has been responsible for several deaths in a short period of time, as the following cases show:

-17-year-old Elijah Stai from northern Minnesota stopped breathing the same day he took a synthetic drug that appeared to resemble 2C-I.

-18-year-old Christian Bjerk was found dead on a Grand Forks’ sidewalk in June having taken an overdose similar to Stai's.

-Actor Johnny Lewis, who was recently found dead with a “blunt head trauma and manual strangulation” according to Los Angeles's Coroner, is suspected to have been under the influence of 2C-I at the time of his death.

2C-I

These are real examples of the consequences of taking synthetic drugs that are not yet fully understood by the general population. Teens haven’t been educated about these drugs and take real risks by dosing on unsafe amounts, usually having been influenced by friends or dealers who care more about profit than other people’s lives. At present no one knows at which doses, if any, the drugs are safe and what the potential side effects really are.

Unfortunately, it is only after these types of incidents occur that the police can make further investigations into the real dangers associated with the drugs. In general, synthetic drugs will keep appearing in new forms, using new combinations of chemical properties that may still pass FDA approval. There are chemists who are interested in creating these types of drugs with the intention of causing certain wanted effects.

In the meantime, the best preventive weapon to stop this destructive activity is to be aware of the dangers of the synthetic drugs that are available on the market and to educate the youth about their existence and effects.

vista bay rehab

For more information about synthetic drugs, visit Narconon Vista Bay, and for further help call 1-888-257-9052 to talk to a counselor regarding synthetic drug abuse.

 Sources:

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2C-I
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Shulgin
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57522571/smiles-drug-implicated-in-actors-death-what-are-they/ article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2C_%28psychedelics%29