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Miss. Officials Say Synthetic Drugs Still an Issue
Aug. 26--TUPELO -- Synthetic drugs like Spice and bath salts offer a legal high, but the substances can carry a high price.
Designed to mimic marijuana and amphetamines, the drugs have caused serious medical and physical problems, even deaths, according to speakers and officials who gathered in Tupelo for a three-day Mississippi Drug Court conference.
"With Spice, we just don't know enough about its toxicity," said Dr. Kevin Freeman, a behavioral pharmacologist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center."We see people who are seasoned marijuana users showing up in emergency rooms in varying states of psychosis.
"Bath salts are chemically similar to amphetamines but the problem is you don't know the potency. What might be a normal amount of drug A could cause an overdose with drug B."
Freeman, who spoke Thursday, is studying ways to make prescription painkillers less addictive.
Northeast Mississippi has seen a sharp decline in Spice and bath salts in recent years. Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson said his department has not had any complaints since a March arrest and seizure at a convenience store on the Lee-Itawamba County line.
New anti-drug regulations allow states to control entire classes of drugs, making it harder for chemists to tweak formulas to have a new legal version. But there is always something new. One of the latest entries is a synthetic opioid in drink form already available on the shelves.
"The biggest issue with unrestricted drugs is the ease of access," Freeman said. "Children 15 or 16 can try it and experience a slight opioid euphoria. Statistically, around 10 percent of them will want more.
"Anytime you'reselling something psychoactive in a gas station, it should be a red flag."
The Mississippi Drug Court conference continues through today.
Copyright 2016 - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
