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Boosters are still a problem. When five years ago the Seym passed the law to close designer stores, it seemed that the youth would be safe. Today, psychoactive substances - in even worse and more dangerous forms - are flooding the market again. They are sold legally on the Internet.

Boosters are dangerous and probably everyone knows about it. The closure of 1,378 shops with designer drugs as well as factories and wholesalers throughout the country (based on the decision of the Chief Sanitary Inspector of November 2, 2010) brought a moment of peace. The number of poisonings decreased quickly.

But not for a long time, because producers and sellers did not give up. The boosters are back, and they are redoubled. There are more and more of them and they have a stronger effect (in 2013, over 70 new psychoactive substances appeared in Poland). And the trafficking in new drugs - Designer Drugs (DD), as legal highs are called - has moved from stores mainly to the Internet.

Boosters on the Internet are doing well

The European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction in January 2012 identified 693 online stores in Europe (respectively 314 in 2011 and 170 in 2010). There are over 40 e-shops on the Polish market. They often operate under the cover of other activities - computer dealerships, "funny stuff" shops, shops with fragrances and incense sticks, flower shops.

Some on the lists of regular customers even have tens of thousands of Poles. Some sellers warn not to order a parcel to your home address, because there are police checks. But even then, in the worst case scenario, the recipient may only be confiscated, because legal highs are sold legally as collectors' items or as chemicals.

Boosters, or what?

These are certain psychoactive substances - either synthetic or of natural origin. Some try to imitate marijuana, others like amphetamines, cocaine or ecstasy. Most often they consist of several substances. They disrupt many functions of the central nervous system at the same time - this is what they differ from classic drugs and this is their danger.

There are no tests to detect legal highs, there are only drug tests, but adolescents can falsify their results.

They are obtained from hundreds of nature plantshallucinogens such as toadstools, nightshade, cacti, or the skin of poisonous reptiles and amphibians. In addition, there are chemical compounds resulting from the dynamic development of chemistry and pharmacology (some designer drugs are made on the basis of legal, over-the-counter drugs with pseudoephedrine, codeine). the information that these are substances intended for scientific purposes, only for adults and not suitable for consumption. They are sold in test tubes as chemical reagents, but young "chemists" know well that their purpose is different.

Important

Legal regulations on legal highs​​

The amendment to the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction of October 8, 2010 prohibits the production and distribution of legal highs.

Under the new regulations, a sanitary inspector may suspend production or confiscate a product suspected of posing a threat to life or he alth until necessary tests are carried out, and close stores suspected of trading in harmful substances. There is a risk of a fine of up to one million zlotys for the production and distribution of designer drugs.

In July 2015, another amendment to the law entered into force, which was introduced, inter alia, a new definition of substitution measures, as well as the previously unknown concept of "new psychoactive substance". Other substances have also been added to the list of prohibited substances.

Up to 400 people a month are poisoned with legal highs​​

Source: lifestyle.newseria.pl

Unpredictable afterburners work

Marijuana, cocaine and amphetamines are easily detected in the blood, and you know what the antidote is. Power ups are one big mystery, because there are no studies that would directly show how a specific product affects the body. Some people first develop euphoria, others apathy or paranoid states, followed by joy, an explosion of energy and finally a spiritual fall.

Toxicologists say that classic drugs, maybe apart from ecstasy, do not kill after the first plot, and that heroin, which is the hardest drug, has to be taken for several years before it leads to death.

In the case of legal highs, there are cases of death or deep damage to the nervous system after the first dose. Even if researchers find out that the "Amazonka" afterburner available in Szczecin contains 8 substances, there is no guarantee that the "Amazon", which will appear in Przemyśl, will have the same ingredients.

The operation of the "White Lady", "Fire Dragon" or "Mighty Dragon" is known only when there are he alth problems. Sometimes the producers misleadensuring that the products are of natural origin, which is not true.

In 2013, there were 721 drug poisonings. Doctors are helpless, they have to feel in the dark, because they do not know the composition or dose of the active substance. Even if the plants and chemical compounds contained in the mixtures are not harmful or addictive, they can form a dangerous cocktail in combination.

Boosters: bad trip and gateway effect

Young people often experiment with various intoxicating substances, combine designer drugs with classic drugs, alcohol and drugs, which is additionally dangerous and unpredictable in its consequences.

It is known that stimulating substances cause irritation and problems with concentration, and a few hours after taking it, there is a "descent" - exhaustion, disturbance of the heart rhythm, hallucinations, most often auditory.

Often consumed hallucinogens are a way to "bad trips", or "bad journeys", which are accompanied by a strongly depressed mood, anxiety, personality disorders, suicidal thoughts. But everyone reacts differently. We do not yet know the real dangers of combinations of different substances. Young people believe that new drugs are not addictive.

Scientists already know that you can become addicted to certain substances faster than to old drugs. Their consumption causes a "gateway effect" - reaching for more and more addictive substances. In addition, they are easy to overdose.

Teenagers, due to the hormonal storm, high levels of testosterone, adrenaline and endorphins, have a strongly stimulated central nervous system, their brains go crazy by themselves. If it is combined with a large amount of chemistry provided in legal highs, the effects do not last long.

Boosters: from high school on high

Once upon a time the problem was only with certain environments. Today there are no barriers. Young people talk about designer drugs in the same way as about other stimulants and no one condemns it. Children, from whom we expect too much, experiment. We want them to be admitted to the law, to medicine, to become stars, so they are looking for substances that will help them overcome stress and meet expectations. Children reach for drugs when there is freedom in their homes from risky behavior, brought up without stress and without borders.

They also take teenagers who do not hear a good word from their parents, only criticism. The main group is made up of junior high school and high school students, students, and young people up to 20 years of age. There are also primary school students - among the latter the record holder is only 7 years old. It is disturbing that every fourth student has taken a psychoactive substance at least once (in terms of the use of ecstasy, we occupy 2.place in Europe!) For some, boosters are a way of coping with emotions, for others - an escape from the prose of life, from parents with whom they do not find a common language. Sometimes it is a way to mask your complexes, find yourself in a group, find your own way. There is also curiosity behind it: I take it because others take it and to make the meeting more attractive.

Deeply hidden reasons for using boosters

The problem of drugs and legal highs is associated with the de-encapsulation of social life, the growing number of divorces, and the disappearance of extended families.

Young people have always been drawn to risky situations, but their burden has changed. In the past, people used to steal apples from their neighbors, smoke cigarettes ste althily, and now buy designer drugs. If the role of the family disappears, there is no table where children and parents meet every day, we do not notice that the child is maturing, experiencing his first love, feeling lonely, it will all collapse. The gap is filled by … power-ups.

There is no single effective method that would protect a teenager from boosters. Certainly, the greater the contact with the child, the greater the chance that it cannot be persuaded to do so. You have to talk without avoiding difficult topics, listen and not underestimate his problems.

It's important to build mutual trust. However, despite the parents' efforts, sometimes the desire to fit in with the peer group prevails.

Boosters: smart prevention

Even the best system that will pick up dangerous specifics and enter on the banned list will not solve the problem.

There is always a certain group of psychoactive substances that will escape legal regulations, because commonly available preparations, such as cough syrups, are often used as designer drugs. That is why it is postulated to control the sale of certain drugs without a prescription, as in some Western countries.

Prophylaxis carried out from the 5th and 6th grade of primary school is important so that people entering adolescence know what experimenting with legal highs results. But it has to be a systemic action. Today, an anti-drug campaign is launched when a child dies, and after a few months it is forgotten.

The fight with boosters will continue until the inventiveness of their creators runs out. That's why you need to change your awareness, because if you don't, the problem will get worse.

Important

What to do when a child takes

When someone has good contact with a child, they will notice that something is wrong with them. Any change in behavior should be disturbing. The child begins to move away from you, spins, lies, replies with half-words, even though you have been able to communicate with each other so far.

Waggers, misses study, is constantly tired, sleepy, melancholic or irritable, aggressive, raises the topic of death, suicide, questions the harmfulness of legal highs. He often leaves the house, stays away from home, and locks up his room. Money and valuables disappear from the house.

All of this may indicate that there is a problem. Start with a quiet conversation. A teenager himself will not admit that he is taking. There are no tests that would detect legal highs, they are only drug-related, but adolescents can falsify their results.

If the disturbing symptoms recur, it is best to go to an addiction treatment clinic. Based on an interview and tests, the specialists working there will assess the situation and, if necessary, suggest treatment or refer you to the toxicology department.

Some parents know that their child is experimenting, screaming, wringing their hands, but they do not ask themselves the key question why the child uses the drug. They wait a week, month, year, and see a specialist when the child is fully dependent.

"Zdrowie" monthly

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Category:

Psychology