Bathtub Molly: Designer Drugs and the Legality Thereof

Meow Meow is not your friend.  Neither is any other designer drug that someone engineers, mixes up in a juiced-up home chemistry set and sells on the internet. 

This is going to sound absurd and/or repulsive to a lot of you.  Just bear with me.  You may at least find this interesting.  Kind of like watching a show about cannibalism on the History Channel.  You know you aren’t ever going to dabble in the subject, but you can’t stop watching.

Every once in a while someone (often a teenager with too much chemistry knowledge and not enough sense) manufactures a new drug that cannot be detected by existing drug tests.  The drug becomes popular, it may or may not kill a few people, and then states (and possibly the federal government) begin to ban it.  Some are extremely dangerous and some are relatively benign.  Occasionally, a drug will reach a level of…um…legitimacy(?), I suppose – such that the designer drug is packaged for resale and distributed freely on the open market. 

Take “Spice” for example.  “Spice” is the trademarked name of a company that distributed a synthetic cannabinoid (although the name “Spice” has been generalized to the extent that people use it to refer to all synthetic cannabis products, much like “Band-Aid” or “Kleenex”).  This synthetic cannabis product was packaged in a little shiny pouch with a flashy logo, and was sold in gas stations until banned Nationwide in March of 2011.  I haven’t found any research that suggests that Spice causes any more negative side effects than actual pot (except that some research suggests that it may make people nauseous) but the concern is that a lot of research just doesn’t exist.  The Associated Press indicated earlier this year that no official studies have been conducted on Spice’s effects on humans.

And that’s the problem.  We really have no idea what the short or long-term consequences of ingesting these drugs are, or will be.  People are just buying these drugs off the internet, or from some guy down the street and shoving them into their body, with no idea of what sort of harm might befall them.  If you are wondering why people wouldn’t weigh the possible consequences of drug use against the desire to get a little buzz, you are injecting a level of logic that simply isn’t present when people buy designer drugs.

More recently, “bath salts” have been the designer drug of choice.  The scientific name for the synthetic stimulant is mephedrone or methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV).  It comes in tablet or powder forms and users swallow, snort, or inject the drug into their bloodstream. The reported effects of mephedrone are very similar to those caused by cocaine and MDMA.  According to the DEA’s Drug and Chemical Evaluation of methylenedioxypyrovalerone, that means the drug causes feelings of empathy, stimulation, alertness, euphoria, and awareness of senses.  On the negative side, it can cause tachycardia, hypertension, vasoconstriction, and sweating.  MDPV has also been reported to cause intense, prolonged panic attacks in users.  Repeat users have reported bouts of psychosis and a craving or a strong desire or urge to use again. 

Users have been able to get the drug through internet purchases, or from street pharmacists.  The "street names" for mephedrone or MDPV bath salts are numerous.  They include but are not limited to Meow Meow, Kat, White Knight,  White Rush, Ivory Snow, Vanilla Sky, Plant Fertilizer, Energy-1, and Arctic Blast.*  

In 2011, the CDC conducted the first public health investigation of emergency room cases resulting from the use of bath salts.  During a 4-month period in Michigan, 35 patients who had inhaled, injected, or ingested bath salts visited emergency rooms. Of these 35 patients, 17 were hospitalized and one was dead upon arrival.  Due to the increase in emergency room visits by people overdosing on bath salts, the DEA moved to make methylenedioxypyrovalerone, mephedrone, and methylone illegal.  

As of October 21, 2011, MDPV, its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers have been temporarily controlled in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.  So the point of all of this is that Meow Meow is now illegal, no matter where you are in the United States.  Also, it might be a bad idea to ingest it.

Drug charges are serious.  If you have been charged with a drug crime in Louisville, Lexington, Frankfort, Elizabethtown, or the surrounding areas, call the experienced drug charge lawyer Greg Simms.  The initial consultation is free, so call 502.473.6464 today.

Individual Attention.  Extraordinary Results.

See WWW.LOUISVILLEFIRM.COM

*Not to be confused with the frozen treat formerly available at Tommy’s Burger Palace in Lebanon, Kentucky.


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