The Recovery Place Concerned About An All New High: When Thinking Outside the Box Leads to Addiction

Teens and young adults are coming up with creative ways to use legal substances to achieve a high. The Recovery Place finds major concern in the negative health issues and addiction still inherent to these new “legal” drugs.

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Teens and young adults are coming up with creative ways to use legal substances to achieve a high. The Recovery Place finds major concern in the negative health issues and addiction still inherent to these new “legal” drugs.

Drug abuse and misuse of prescription drugs is on the rise, and more stringent governmental regulations are being put into place to control the misuse of legal prescriptions (WebMD). With these drugs less readily available on the street or out of the family medicine cabinet, sellers and homegrown chemists are finding new ways to make a profit or a high on drugs made from legal ingredients.

Because the ingredients individually are legal, or being used in a legal way, the new methods of combining or using these substances are not regulated. Often marketed by including the words herb or herbal in the name, uninformed users may assume that these products are safe, even when misused.

According to The Washington Post, bath salts and “fake pot” are two of the newest, with use of the long-favored inhalants.

“Ivory Snow” and “Vanilla Sky” are two of the multitude of names for crystallized chemicals being sold legally under the label “bath salts.” These chemicals cause a stimulant effect on the brain that not only results in the high that is sought by users, but also paranoia, hallucinations and a potentially deadly increase in a person’s heart rate. Self-mutilation and death have been reported.

Many teens and young adults look for a “household high” by inhaling a huge variety of readily available products that include chemicals that work directly on the brain, and cause hallucinations or a sense of euphoria. These include whipped cream dispensers, spray paint and fingernail polish. Easily obtained, they are just as easily abused, and often a first-use drug by preteens.

Narconon reports that viral video and word of mouth have also informed high-seeking kids to look for products labeled “leather cleaner” and “liquid aroma,” among others. Because these products have legitimate applications, their sale is generally unregulated and impossible to enforce by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Inhalants with legitimate uses come labeled with the precautions of “do not inhale or ingest” and “use in well-ventilated area” for a good reason. Hearing loss, bone marrow damage and other severe medical problems have occurred after prolonged exposure.

According to CNN, Plant material coated with chemicals has been sold as herbal incense, touted by sellers to mimic the effects of marijuana when smoked. Street names include “spice,” “K2,” “Blaze,” and “Red X Dawn.”

Indicative of the severity of this new kind of drug use, the DEA has made the selling and possession of five common chemicals found in “fake pot” illegal. This temporary emergency measure was put into effect this month and will be in place for at least one year.