Teens Should be Warned about Deadly New Drug MXE

methoxetamine synthetic drugZachary Grazier was an attractive, dark-haired young man living in a classic American town on the Pamlico River in North Carolina. When he was 20 years old, he died as a result of his use of a new drug on the market, MXE or methoxetamine. A contributing factor in his death was the fact that his friends convinced him that this drug was harmless because it was legal to sell North Carolina.

To find justice for her son, Zachary’s mother launched a website called Justice for Zach to help promote the danger of MXE, noting that emergency medical technicians don’t even have a drug test to screen for MXE because it is too newly arrived on the market. She seeks to increase awareness of the drug that killed her son.

Methoxetamine is a stimulant somewhat similar to the 60’s drug PCP or the vet anesthetic ketamine. Ketamine is well known for creating dissociation in the person who uses it – a loss of one’s identity, a disconnection from one’s own body, thoughts or perceptions. At high doses, a person gets lost in some other universe detached from this one. That experience is called the “k-hole.” The effect of methoxetamine is similar in some respects. Users of this drug describe the experience as including an inability to walk, make sentences or remember anything longer than a few seconds, plus panic, anxiety, vomiting and long recovery time – in one case, weeks of anxiety and stress.

MXE was Legal in the State

The problem with these new formulas of synthetic drug is that they can sometimes be sold legally because legislation has not caught up with it yet. It takes time for a new synthetic formula to be seized and tested by law enforcement, enough information on its dangers to be compiled, the information to be forwarded to legislators and then for new laws to be passed. Synthetic drug manufacturers know about this delay and take advantage of it, changing formulas as often as needed to evade the laws, without any regard for effects on the user.

The drug showed up in the US in 2013. In Europe in 2014, the European Commission recommended that it be banned in the member countries. In the US, it is only illegal in eight states.

Methoxetamine is sold as a “research chemical.” It will be a white or off-white powder, sometimes in packaging that identifies it as a chemical that is “not intended for human consumption.” The World Health Organization (WHO) note these problems arising after use of this drug:

• Confusion
• Agitation
• Amnesia
• Disoriention
• Hallucinations
• High blood pressure
• Euphoria
• Violence

Thirteen deaths involving MXE were reported by the WHO, with a few of these resulting from drowning while intoxicated on the drug. The youngest victim was 17 years old.

The Only Safety is Staying Drug-free

Synthetics coverParents and educators may find it challenging to educate children on drugs when the list of drugs those children could be offered constantly changes. For that reason, Narconon has also prepared materials to help adults discuss the danger of synthetic drug use. That information is available here: http://www.narconon.org/drug-abuse/synthetics/.

The safest line to take is to motivate children to set goals that are important to them and help them achieve them, step by step. Make it very clear that many thousands of young people never had a chance to achieve their goals as their lives were taken by drugs.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-For-Zach/767559126659418?sk=info&tab=page_info
http://www.dea.gov/pr/microgram-journals/2012/mj9-1_3-17.pdf
http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/mtgs/pharm_awareness/conf_2013/july_2013/asantos2.pdf