Designer drugs are drugs that have been created to mimic the effects of illegal substances while still attempting to be sold legally. They are often made in homes or secret illegal labs. They can be made from plant substances or entirely synthetic chemicals that can be legally purchased in order to attempt to create a new “legal” substance.
Over the last decade, Houston, and Texas as a whole have experienced increases in the illicit trafficking of drugs and overdose deaths. However, according to a recent report from Houston Public Media, opioids may not be the biggest concern in the Greater Houston area. The state’s leading researcher on drugs and drug trends in Texas shares her insight on what she says is a more dangerous drug in Houston and Texas. (more…)
My family celebrates the holidays together at my parents house in Arizona. Rarely am I able to attend, living in Texas and working full time. This past Christmas I was able to return home and enjoy the festivities with my family. Walking through my childhood home I reminisced on my younger years. Happy family photos covered the walls in my parents house. Anyone looking at these old photos could tell our family was happy, but no one could tell that the little boy in those photos would grow up to become a junkie who would be forced to wander the streets night after night in search for drugs that he thought he so desperately needed to survive. My parents had no idea what was going to happen to their son. Encouraged to perform well in school, my parents were good role models for my siblings and myself growing up. I was involved in the Boy Scouts and even earn the highest rank Eagle Scout. Sports filled my time after school, it seemed like the picture perfect childhood and my parents had no idea that their son’s future was going to involve an addiction to heroin. (more…)
Commonly known as Spice or K2, “synthetic marijuana”, is a mixture of shredded plant materials sprayed with synthetic cannabinoids which users claim mimics the effects of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. The product is often sold in retail outlets labeled as herbal incense or potpourri and marked as “not intended for human consumption” in order to hide its intended purpose. The drug is typically smoked in a similar fashion to marijuana; however, some users have been using the substance to brew an herbal tea for consumption. (more…)