Emerging Trends in Drug Use and Distribution

103 Pages·2014·1.072 MB·English

by  David N. Khey, John Stogner, Bryan Lee Miller (auth.)

SpringerBriefs in Criminology
Forfurthervolumes:
http://www.springer.com/series/10159
David N. Khey • John Stogner (cid:129) Bryan Lee Miller
Emerging Trends in Drug
Use and Distribution
Volume 12
2123
DavidN.Khey BryanLeeMiller
DepartmentofCriminalJustice DeptofCriminalJusticeandCriminology
LoyolaUniversityNewOrleans GeorgiaSouthernUniversity
NewOrleans Statesboro
Louisiana Georgia
USA USA
JohnStogner
Dept.ofCriminalJustice
UniversityofNorthCarolinaCharlotte
Charlotte
USA
ISSN2192-8533 ISSN2192-8541(electronic)
ISBN978-3-319-03574-1 ISBN978-3-319-03575-8(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-03575-8
SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2013954904
© SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2014
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Preface
Cannabinoidsarethecrisisofthedecade
Evrenetal.2013
Concernsovertheincreaseduseofemergingdrugs—especiallyamongteenagers—
have captured the attention of the media, legislatures, and local communities.
However, there has been a great deal of misinformation, sensationalistic journal-
ism, and uncertainty in regards to these sorts of substances. Policy-makers have
recentlyerredonthesideofcautionbytakingstridestobanthesesubstancesshortly
afterafirstmentionofthemintheheadlines.Manypublichealthexpertsseemingly
failtounderstandthebroaderpatternsofemergingdruguse,particularlyincontext
ofawealthofpreviouscasesandpatternsseenoverthelastcentury.Withtheincreas-
ingnumberofcurrentcasesrequiringgovernmentalandpublichealthintervention,
we wish to arm decision-makers with a comprehensive guide on emerging drugs
tomakeinformeddecisions.Wehopethattheywillbegintoseetheemergenceof
newpsychoactivedrugsnotasuniqueoverwhelmingcrises,butaspatternedevents
that may be managed. For students, researchers, and parents, we wish to provide
a balanced source of information on this topic; but, most importantly, we wish to
dispelthemisconceptionsandshinelightonactualizedproblemstogiveusaclear
understandingoftheissuespertainingtoemergingdrugs.
v
Contents
1 NewTrendsinPsychoactiveDrugUse ............................ 1
1.1 Introduction ............................................... 1
1.2 DefiningEmergingDrugs.................................... 3
1.3 SourcesofEmergingDrugs .................................. 5
1.4 GeneralPatternsofUse...................................... 6
1.5 PublicHealthConcerns...................................... 7
1.6 DivergencefromFederalGuidanceandLaw .................... 9
1.7 SettingtheTone............................................ 10
References..................................................... 10
2 EmergingDrugs,TodayVersusYesteryear ........................ 13
2.1 PartitioningRecreationalDrugsfromMedicine.................. 13
2.1.1 Absinthe............................................ 14
2.1.2 LSD ............................................... 18
2.1.3 Quaalude ........................................... 21
2.1.4 MDMA,Ketamine,andGHB .......................... 23
2.2 DrugScaresandtheMedia................................... 25
2.3 CurrentTrends............................................. 26
2.3.1 NewlySynthesizedAnalogues ......................... 26
2.3.2 NewtoUs—Botanicals ............................... 28
2.3.3 NewTricksforOldDrugs ............................. 29
2.4 ConnectingthePasttothePresent............................. 30
References..................................................... 31
3 EmergingDrugTradeandUse:Manufacturing,Marketing,
andUnderstandingNovelHighs ................................. 33
3.1 TheShadowIndustryProfitingfromEmergingDrugUse ......... 33
3.1.1 DrugDevelopmentandtheRegulateandReformulate
Game .............................................. 35
3.1.2 DistributionandInternationalIssues .................... 37
3.2 TheSaleandMarketingofNovelDrugs........................ 38
3.2.1 OvertheCounterRetailSales .......................... 38
vii
viii Contents
3.2.2 StreetDealersandBlackMarketDistribution............. 39
3.2.3 OnlineSales ........................................ 40
3.3 TheRoleoftheInternetintheSpreadofEmergingDrugs......... 42
3.4 ExplainingEmergingDrugUse............................... 43
3.4.1 TraditionalExplanationsofDrugUse ................... 44
3.4.2 EmergingDrugsasReplacementsforBannedSubstances... 46
3.4.3 EmergingDrugUseasaDeviantSocialMilestone ........ 47
References..................................................... 48
4 CaseStudiesof EmergingDrugs:Salvia,BathSalts,
andBromo-DragonFly.......................................... 53
4.1 CaseStudy1:Salviadivinorum............................... 53
4.1.1 HistoricUseofSalvia ................................ 54
4.1.2 ModernSalviaUse................................... 54
4.1.3 MediaCoverageandRegulationofSalvia................ 55
4.1.4 TheScopeofSalviaUse .............................. 56
4.1.5 Salvia:AnInternetPhenomenon?....................... 58
4.1.6 TypologyofSalviaUsers.............................. 59
4.1.7 LessonsfromSalviaUseintheUSA .................... 61
4.2 CaseStudy2:SyntheticStimulantsCalled“BathSalts”........... 61
4.2.1 BathSaltsandtheBody............................... 62
4.2.2 TheEmergenceofBathSaltUse ....................... 63
4.2.3 USMediaandCulturalPanicsLinkedtoBathSaltUse..... 65
4.2.4 RegulationofBathSaltsandResults .................... 66
4.2.5 LessonsfromBathSaltsandtheFuture.................. 67
4.3 CaseStudy3:Bromo-DragonFly,aPowerfulHallucinogen........ 68
References..................................................... 70
5 WhatIsBeingDoneAboutEmergingDrugs? ..................... 75
5.1 TheControlledSubstancesAct ............................... 75
5.1.1 EmergencySchedulingPowers......................... 76
5.1.2 ControlledSubstanceAnalogues........................ 77
5.1.3 FoodandDrugAdministration ......................... 78
5.2 AMoveAwayfromtheCSA ................................. 79
5.2.1 State-LevelMedicalizationofMarijuana................. 80
5.2.2 Salviadivinorum,Kratom,andotherStateLevelBans ..... 80
5.3 SyntheticCannabinoids,BathSalts,andtheSynthetic
DrugAbusePreventionActof2012 ........................... 83
5.4 InternationalRegulationsofEmergingDrugs ................... 84
5.5 LawEnforcementandInterdiction ............................ 84
5.6 ProsecutingEmergingDrugCases ............................ 87
5.7 CrimeLabandDrugTesting ................................. 88
5.8 EmergingDrugPrevention................................... 89
5.9 FutureDirections........................................... 90
References..................................................... 92
Index ............................................................ 95
Chapter 1
New Trends in Psychoactive Drug Use
Over the past two decades in particular, there has been increasing concern over a
subsetofpsychoactivesubstancesnewonthedrugscene.Whilesomehavereceived
a substantial amount of media coverage in recent years, many of these substances
areunheardofbythevastpopulous;infact,onlyanichegroupofdrugusersmay
knowoftheirexistenceprevioustotheireventualexposuretothepublic.Thereis,
however, a good base for understanding these emerging drugs as presented in this
chapter.Aframeworkispresentedtobettergrapplewithemergingdrugtrendsgiven
thisknowledgebase.Thisprovidesasolidfoundationtoexpandonpreviousresearch
whileminimizingthetemptationofincludinganecdotalandcircumstantialevidence
whendrawingconclusionsonemergingdrugtrends.
1.1 Introduction
Tosaytheleast,emergingdrugshavecapturedashareofmediaheadlinesinrecent
years.Thelitanyofstorieshasrangedfromreportsofcelebrityuseandreviewsof
legalchangestofear-mongeringpiecesaboutepidemicuseamongteenagersandthe
drugs’close connections with criminal activity and bizarre behavior. Members of
mainstreamAmerica seem to know of these drugs only as a result of a handful of
over-sensationalizedcasesinthemedia. Aperfectcaseinpointwastheintensemedia
interestinthevideotapedepictingpopularmusicianMileyCyrus“trippingout”after
smokingtheplantSalviadivinorum(Detrick2010).Thecoverageofthisleakedclip
rapidlyelevatedtheawarenessofsalviaamongtheAmericanpublic,astheuntimely
deathofBrettChidesterhadyearsbefore(Griffinetal.2008).In2006,the17-year-old
took his own life, and salvia use was officially listed on the death certificate as a
contributingcauseofdeath.Ortakethecaseofaward-winningactressDemiMoore:
After experiencing complications and convulsions attributed to smoking synthetic
cannabinoids, she was rushed to the hospital and treated for drug poisoning.As a
result,reportsofcannabinoidissuesincreasedmanyfoldacrossthenationandmedia
consumers were exposed to the “wild dangers” of a new and emerging drug trend
(Dillon 2012). Perhaps receiving the most attention was the incredible story of a
drug-crazed, zombie-like attack on an unsuspecting Florida man in 2012. Despite
D.N.Kheyetal.,EmergingTrendsinDrugUseandDistribution, 1
SpringerBriefsinCriminology12,DOI10.1007/978-3-319-03575-8_1,
©SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2014
2 1 NewTrendsinPsychoactiveDrugUse
the subsequent confirmation of the lack of synthetic cathinones in Rudy Eugene’s
systematthetimeofhisviolentandcannibalisticattackonRonaldPoppoinsouthern
Florida (Hiaasen and Green 2012), manyAmericans still associate bath salts with
cannibalism as a result of the extensive media coverage and gross misreporting of
theincident.
Thoughthefearandanxietiesrelatedtonewandemergingdrugsseemtobebased
onafewisolatedincidentsandinaccurateinformation,thiscertainlydoesnotmean
that those concerns are inappropriate. Quite to the contrary, and as the following
chapters will demonstrate, some of the recently emerging drugs represent a clear
threattopublichealthandshouldbethefocusofregulationandintenseconcerted
effortofemergencymedicine,treatmentprofessionals,lawenforcement(particularly
asrelatedtointerdiction),andcustomsandpostalinspectors.However,inorderto
best manage the appearance of new drug trends and new substances, a better and
moreanalyticapproachtotheemergingdrugproblemmustbeundertaken. Rather
thanreactwithpanicandengageinknee-jerkreactions,aninformedsocietyshould
focus on gathering facts about novel substances’pharmacology, effects, use pat-
terns, distribution, andrisk-potential. Importantly, aneducatedsocietyshouldalso
considerthesocialdynamicsthatledtothedrugs’emergence.Doingsowillgiveus
awindowintoanemergingdrug’spotentialforproblematicand/ordangeroususe.
For example, if we know that a new substance is being primarily used in the club
scene, there may be potential for this substance to be combined with other drugs
(ecstasy,LSD,andperhapsalcohol)—whichmayleadtounintendedconsequences.
Further,policymakersshouldavoidoutrightbansonthesesubstancesuntiltheyex-
plorethefullramificationsoftheseactions.Thisincludestheeffectofregulationon
lawenforcement(suchascostanddistractionfromlargerconcerns),thepotentialfor
“legalhigh”manufacturerstoreplaceabannedsubstancewithamoredangerousor
addictingunregulatedformulationofthedrug,andwhetheruserswillreverttomore
dangerous street drugs. There are also various other tools available to legislatures,
publichealthandjusticeprofessionals,andothersinvolvedtomitigatetheproblems
ofnovelsubstances, minimizeuse(particularlyproblemuse), andoptimizepublic
resourcesavailabletoaddresstheseproblems.Alternativeapproachestoanimme-
diateoutrightbanalsoallowmorelatitudetoresearchersininvestigatingpotential
therapeuticagentsandreducesthelikelihoodthatthesesubstanceswillbemiredin
thetypicalstigmaattachedto“illicitdrugs,”“drugsofabuse,”or“illegaldrugs.”
The following chapters offer insight into the emerging drug phenomenon in an
attempt to assist readers in reaching valid conclusions and inspire thoughtful re-
searchinthearea.Theystressthatwhilemanypsychoactivesubstancesarenewto
recreationaluse(includingmostofthosethatserveasexampleswithinthetext),the
phenomenonofemergingdrugsisnot.Modernsocietieshavestruggledtomanage
numeroussubstanceshypedasthe“nextscarydrug”formanydecades. Chapter2
offersseveralexamplesofthemanagementofhistoricalemergingdrug“threats”and
outlineshowsomeofthesedrugsbecameapermanentpartoftoday’sdruglandscape
whileothersfellfrompopularuse.Thechapterthenintroducessomeprominentcon-
temporaryemergingdrugissuesandmakesclearthesimilaritiesofpastandpresent
emergingdrugnarratives.Bypresentingtheinformationinthisway,weemphasize
1.2 DefiningEmergingDrugs 3
that it is not so much the drugs themselves that are critically important relative to
the societal and cultural factors that shape these narratives. Readers should utilize
thisbalancedandhistoricallygroundedapproachtoaugmenttherecentfocusonthe
chemicalspecificsofthesedrugs. Inparticular, understandingtheprocessthrough
whichnewdrugsaredeveloped,introduced,marketed,promoted,reportedon,regu-
lated,andbecomethesubjectoflawenforcementandregulatoryeffortswillenhance
readers’understandingrelatedtoallnewdrugsandservethembetterthanafocuson
asingledrug’schemicalcomposition.Thepatternsseenintoday’semergingdrugs
repeatthoseofhistoricemergingdrugsandwilllikelyberepeatedinthefuturewith
new substances and new forms of existing drugs. As a result, understanding the
emergenceofthesedrugswillhelpreaderspredicttheevolutionintheuseofnew
drugsreachingthemarketinfuture.
1.2 DefiningEmergingDrugs
Atpresent,thereseemstobeasmuchinconsistencywithlabelingandcategorizing
emerging drugs as there is with regulating and reacting to the substances. Deter-
miningtheappropriatenomenclatureandtaxonomyforthesesubstancesthathave
onlyrecentlybeenusedforrecreationalpurposesistrickyinthatthesedrugsvary
in terms of their origin, psychoactive effects, legality, and distribution. Unlike the
traditional categorizations of drugs as stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens, and
so forth, each of these substances are evolving in use in a similar way rather than
sharingaclusterofpsychologicalandphysiologicaleffects.However,theircollec-
tive grouping serves a clear purpose. They may be linked to similar portions of a
“shadowindustry”andtheirmanufacturersmayutilizesimilarpracticestoskirtthe
law and reach consumers. Even law enforcement and public health officials have
limitedknowledgeoftheirpharmacologicaleffectsandmaythinkofeachofthese
substances as “one of those new drugs.” With evolution being their unifying trait,
determiningwhichsubstancesshouldbeplacedinthisframeworkischallengingin
thatseveralfeaturesofadrugitselfanditsusepatternsmaybeactivelychanging.
This could include new formulations, new marketing techniques, altered routes of
administration,orotherchanges.
In recent years, the term “legal highs” was employed to describe several of the
substancesthatweconsideremergingdrugs,particularlybythemedia;thistermalso
carriedovertoseveralrecentacademicstudies(e.g.,Brandtetal.2010;Arunotayanun
and Gibbons 2012; Davies et al. 2010). As Corazza et al. (2012) point out, it is
inappropriatetoapplythe“legal”labelsinceasubstance’slegalitymaychangesoon
after its emergence and legal status can vary across jurisdictions. Further, many
substancesmayinitiallyexistinalegal“grayarea”inthattheirlegalityorillegality
may be contingent on an administrative ruling that determines if a substance in
question is similar enough to a currently banned substance to be considered an
analogue;thatis,manynationshavecreatedlawstoregulatesubstanceswhichare
chemicallyandfunctionallyrelatedtoanexistingcontrolledsubstance.Additionally,