Every year it seems there is a new designer drug making headlines. This year, that drug is kratom, a derivative of a plant found in southeast Asia that has been used for many years as an herbal treatment for depression, diarrhea and pain and as a medication for opiate withdrawal. However, in the U.S., kratom has been found to have no established medical use.

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A new study published online July 13 Journal of General Internal Medicine reveals that more than half of the people taking opioids for chronic pain are likely to still be taking the painkillers five years later.

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People who use methamphetamines may have a 76 percent higher likelihood of developing Parkinson’s disease, according to a recent study.

Researchers at Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health say the connection may lie in the way methamphetamines, or meth, harm the neurons related to dopamine. Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the central nervous system that kills the cells located in the midbrain region that contains dopamine, although researchers do not know exactly what causes these cells to cease.

Over time, methamphetamine has been shown in brain imaging studies to change the way the dopamine system functions and to cause problems with motor skills and the ability to retain verbal information. Serious structural damage has also been noted in the brain areas linked with the ability to remember information and to manage emotions.

Methamphetamines, part of the stimulant class of drugs, belong to one of the most commonly used illegal categories of drugs across the globe. Because of its high potential for abuse, methamphetamine is a Schedule II drug and is available to patients only by a prescription and in limited quantities.

Researchers also stated in an article on CBC News that the higher risk of Parkinson’s disease is not applicable to patients taking amphetamines for conditions like ADHD or medicinal purposes, because they use much smaller, medically approved dosages. The research study results are included in the Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal.

During the study, researchers looked at the medical reports for 40,000 California patients who had been hospitalized for methamphetamine use over a 15-year period. They also examined thousands more records for patients admitted for cocaine and appendicitis. They compared this data to records of Parkinson’s disease found on death records or hospital records, determining a link between methamphetamine use and the presence of Parkinson’s disease.

Today, bath salts are no longer being used as a way to relax and moisturize your skin, instead they are being abused and used as a drug. This new addiction, derived as a stimulant, is raising a lot of concern within medical circles.

This new trend in drug addictions is somewhat different than others, in the sense that bath salt is being used as a recreational drug. Bath salts can come as either a powder or crystal, and they are used for snorting, injecting or smoking. In the months from January to June, poison control centers located across the country have received approximately 3,470 calls related to the bath salt drug.

Rather than a calm high, bath salts are leaving their addicts violent, outraged and psychotic. They are becoming so demented that sedatives are failing to work, and a team of doctors is being required to hold down and treat the addicts.

Since bath salts have become such a dangerous drug, many states are beginning the banning process, in hope to get rid of the drug all together. So far, 28 states have banned bath salts, most including states in the south and Midwest. Northern states such as Maine, New Jersey and New York are also jumping on the bandwagon.

A special task force in New York took matters into their own hands last month. The drug agency sent undercover agents to bath stores to buy the bath salts from distributors in the Manhattan and Brooklyn areas. What they found was that the clerks were even advertising how to ingest the drug and even made comments about how it would not show up on a drug test.

What exactly is it that makes bath salts dangerously addictive? Bath salts are compromised of multiple chemicals that are manufactured, such as mephedrone and methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV). Both of these are related to the drug khat, which is an illegal stimulant, found in East African countries and Arab. These drugs also distinguish characteristics that are found in synthetic marijuana, which is also a dangerous drug looking to be banned.

While steps are being taken to prevent the abuse of bath salts, the issue isn’t going to fade anytime soon. Bath salts are still easily for sale and can be bought at any age. The average price is $20-$50 depending on the amount in the container. This means even a 12 year-old has the ability to buy this drug and get a high off of it. This is a bigger problem than many people are willing to believe and fortunately, the matter is not being ignored.

On July 8th, Australia placed a ban on all substances that are like Cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, including eight that were synthetic-based types.

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Krokodil is an opiate whose use is sweeping across the Russian landscape like a deadly plague. The drug first appeared in 2002, but today accounts for nearly half of Russia’s drug addicted population. Nearly one million young Russians are succumbing to the drug’s gruesome power.

The medical term for the drug is desomorphine and it is sometimes referred to as morphine’s dirty cousin. Dirty because of the way that the drug is made. The drug is cooked with a recipe whose key ingredient is codeine. To the codeine, home manufacturers add solvents like gasoline, hydrochloric acid, iodine, paint thinner and even the phosphorous scrapings from the sides of matchboxes. Users then inject themselves with the corrosive brew whose high lasts not more than an hour or so. The damage done to the tissue surrounding the injection site is far more lasting.

Devastating Effects Of Krokodil

The drug is called Krokodil because the skin surrounding the site of injection resembles a crocodile’s. With frightening quickness the skin turns green and scale-like as blood vessels burst and tissue dies. Instances of gangrene have become common and often the user faces amputation related to the drug’s devastating effect. This drug can permanently destroy important brain function, result in physical disfigurement and consistent users rarely live beyond two to three years.

The federal Drug Control Services of Russia report that from 2009 to 2010 alone use of the drug grew 23x. Before the end of the first quarter of 2011, authorities had taken possession of an astounding 45 million doses. Krokodil produces an effect similar to heroin (Russia’s drug of choice among addicts) but is three times cheaper to produce. Made from codeine which is available over-the-counter and an array of ingredients readily accessible, the drug is both inexpensive and simple to create, which explains why it has been termed the ‘drug for the poor’. The poor and the young, unemployed or underemployed are most likely to be Krokodil users.

Russia has 2.5 million drug addicts according to Health Ministry officials. Most of those are addicted to heroin, the other roughly half are enslaved to heroin’s dirty cousin Krokodil. Yet the Russian government has been unprepared to rehabilitate its drug addicted citizens. Until recently there have been only a few government sponsored rehabilitation facilities in which to house and treat addicts. On the other hand, Evangelical Christians within Russia run 500 self-supporting rehab centers where addicts are slowly reintroduced to the normal routines of life along with Bible study and prayer.

Those at the highest levels of government appear to be waking up to the rampant danger of Krokodil. Plans are in place to create a network of rehabilitation centers to help turn back the tide of Krokodil addiction in the country.

A new study from Great Britain found that heavy cocaine users have abnormal brain scans, and that the abnormalities may be what causes the addiction, and not vice versa.

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Synthetic marijuana has been available since 2006 but has recently gained in popularity. Sold under the names of K2, Spice, Black Mamba, Blaze, and Red X Dawn, it was touted as the legal marijuana and was, therefore, a very attractive alternative to the real thing. But, as the prescription drug epidemic has shown, legal doesn’t mean safe.

In March of 2011, the DEA issued a statement that prohibited the production, possession, and sale of any of the five different chemicals that are used to produce fake marijuana. This makes its byproducts such as K2 and Spice illegal as well.

Harmful Side Effects of Fake Marijuana

Synthetic marijuana was sold at tobacco shops and gas stations, and was marketed as tea, incense, or herbs. The herbs were sprayed with chemicals that mimic the psychoactive properties of THC. Unlike marijuana, though, fake pot cannot be combined with alcohol without making the person extremely ill. Dawn Dearden, spokeswoman for the DEA also points out that since these synthetic marijuana substitutes are not produced in a controlled environment, their purity and dosage are not regulated or consistent.

Since these compounds have only been around since 2006, their long-term side effects have not been well-studied or documented. However, acute side effects of fake marijuana include trouble breathing, heart palpitations, panic attacks, hallucinations, vomiting, and seizures. There have also been two reported cases of suicide that have resulted from hallucinations.

Synthetic Marijuana’s Chemicals Stay in the Body Longer than THC

While chemicals in synthetic marijuana mimic the effects of THC, they are very different. THC doesn’t stay in a person’s system for very long, whereas, the chemicals used to make K2 and Spice are stronger and bind more permanently to receptors in the body. They remain longer in the brain and other organs. They are also not as quick to bind to receptors in the body as THC, which means that there is an increased risk of overdose as individuals ingest more because they can’t immediately feel its effects.

K2 and Spice do not show up in traditional urine analysis either, which makes them even more attractive. According to the Los Angeles Times, ten individuals in one month were admitted to the Naval Medical Center in San Diego for treatment of psychosis resulting from the use of Spice. Many of the individuals experienced paranoia, delusions, and suicidal thoughts that did not go away for up to a week. Others, however, were not so lucky, with symptoms persisting three months after the exposure.

Synthetic Marijuana Hard to Detect in Tests

The drugs also are a cause of concern for residential drug rehab patients. With only one very expensive test available to test its presence, many drug rehabs cannot afford to test everyone; those in recovery could easily sneak it on the side and appear “clean.” Because of its accessibility, teens are also another target for the drug. Rehabilitation centers have already documented incidences of teens addicted to the strong chemicals lacing K2 and Spice.

Those who have developed a dependence on fake marijuana can benefit from treatment at a marijuana rehab center.