New designer drugs constitute a public health problem that, due to their recent appearance, are faced with a social context in which adequate prevention strategies have not yet been developed. This fact endangers the lives of many people, generally increasingly younger adolescents, who take them for recreational purposes in their leisure time and are unaware of the risks of this type of practice.
Among these forms of drug abuse we can find efilone or ephylone, a substance produced in clandestine laboratories and sold in crystal form. Its use has been generating health problems for some years, mainly in Western countries, where its popularity is increasingly high.
In order to offer service information for anyone who may request it, in today’s article we briefly highlight the main risks associated with the consumption of efilone
Efilone, also known as N-ethylpentylone or bk-EBDP or Ephylone is a synthetic drug derived from cathinone a natural alkaloid from a plant that, when consumed, causes a series of effects on the human body.
This substance belongs to the club of new synthetic drugs, which also include speed and popper, and as it is one of the most recent discoveries in the world of recreational drugs, its nature and characteristics are not yet fully known.
The little we know to date is that efilone has stimulating effects on the body similar to the interaction of cocaine and LSD or MDMA or ecstasy; that is why It is considered an entactogenic drug
Although each person experiences it differently, once consumed, efilone generates some shared effects among consumers, such as euphoria, increased focus and sociability, libido or sexual desire, empathy and affection.
This set of experiences is due to the effects that the drug has on the brain, among which the increase in dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain stands out, neurotransmitters known as the “happiness hormones.”
As with most newly discovered synthetic drugs, there are also a series of negative effects caused by the consumption of efilone that They can seriously affect the person on a physical, emotional and psychological level
Main dangers of efilone
These are the main dangers involved in consuming efilone both frequently and widely over time and in a single administration.
In this list we will include both adverse health effects and additional dangers associated with the particular characteristics and nature of this new drug.
1. Lack of knowledge of the substance
The rise in efilone consumption has been detected since 2016 and, as we have indicated previously, the fact that it is such a new drug prevents health professionals from having sufficient knowledge about the substance.
In addition to the lack of knowledge about the effects of the drug on the part of health services, there is also a lack of knowledge about the implications of different doses and their long and short-term effects.
All this in summary makes effective intervention impossible in cases of overdose which increases the risk of death in all types of inexperienced consumers.
2. Easy acquisition
Currently, efilone can be purchased online, on specialized websites or on social networks, due to its current legal status (it is not considered a prohibited or illegal substance).
How easy it is to acquire allows you to buy this substance without having to contact any criminal organization, just by contacting a trusted distributor or individual.
3. Legal limbo
Since it is not an illegal substance due to the short time it has been in circulation around the world, efilone enjoys, as has been indicated, an illegal status that makes it possible for distributors to do business with the sale of this substance, even in high quantities
The lack of legislation on efilone by international organizations and the laws of each country makes it possible for both the criminal risk of both sale and acquisition to be minimal, which facilitates its consumption throughout the world.
4. Lack of guarantees
As happens with any drug or addictive substance that does not go through the most basic supervision and analysis, it is a potentially dangerous drug for anyone who consumes it.
Its indiscriminate sale without guarantees causes the buyer to often do not know what you are acquiring and what you are going to consume and it is common for what is sold as efilone to be adulterated.
5. Generates dependency
Frequent consumption of efilone can generate dependence in the user, as happens with any other analogous substance.
Many synthetic drugs, consumed recurrently, end up progressively destroying the health of the addicted person, both psychologically and physically
6. Unexpected adverse effects
The main adverse effects that we can find when consuming efilone are hallucinations, anxiety, paranoia time distortion, sweating and muscle contractions.
These effects may have a greater or lesser effect depending on the characteristics of each person.
7. It is confused with other drugs
Efilone is usually sold as if it were MDMA or LSD due to its similar effects which carries a wide variety of health risks.
It is evident that if a person consumes efilone thinking that it is another substance, they may end up suffering an overdose due to ignorance of the new substance.
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