The rise of synthetic drugs : their impact on today’s juveniles and future generations

Abstract

Synthetic drugs, also referred to as new psychoactive substances or designer drugs, are mixtures of substances meant to mimic traditional drugs such as cannabis and cocaine. There are various classes of these designer drugs, but the most common are synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic cathinones. These drugs are most of the time more dangerous than natural drugs and may leave permanent negative psychological, social and physical side effects. A major difficulty faced by policymakers and health officials is that in recent years the number of NPS has been on a steep rise, therefore by the time that a NPS is included in the list of illicit substances, there are already many more others available on the streets. Due to the low cost of these substances when compared to natural drugs, a number of users are opting to consume these NPS, which may sometimes be fatal. Users sometimes opt to go for these types of drugs due to them being legal. Governments need to start looking at new options as to how to address this problem. Legalisation of cannabis for recreational use is an option which most of the questionnaire respondents agreed upon. However, such amendments to the law need to be carefully studied in order to have a better picture of the possible repercussions of such changes. Educating the population about the dangers of these drugs is a must since many are unaware of the consequences that these may leave not only on the users, but also on those around them.