A toxicologist with decades of experience, Dr. Barry Logan currently serves as a senior vice president of forensic science at NMS Labs. He also is the executive director of the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) at Fredric Rieders Family Renaissance Foundation. Dr. Barry Logan’s fields of expertise include postmortem toxicology and designer drugs.
Designer drugs or new psychoactive substances (NPS) denote a group of laboratory-engineered substances that aim to mimic traditional illicit drugs like marijuana, ecstasy, and cocaine. Typically created in illegal laboratories or secret production sites, their makeup is untested, unregulated, and immensely variable, thus posing unpredictable risks. Still, NPS have gained enormous popularity, partly due to massive online advertising and widespread misconceptions, including the below three.
No legal risk: Since designer drugs have different chemical compositions from illicit ones, drug laws rarely cover them, and many assume that using them has no legal implications. Since 2016, however, both U.S. and foreign legislators have made tremendous efforts to close legal loopholes often exploited by designer drug makers.
Undetectable by drug screening tests: Many people, especially those subject to drug screening, choose NPS with the conviction they are undetectable. Certain time lag does exist between the release of a new designer drug and the adjustment of drug tests to detect it. However, drug tests manufacturers have been keeping a close lookout for new substances trying to shorten the lag. Thus, undetectability is already questionable.
Safer than illicit drugs: Being legal to use and easy-to-obtain at convenience stores or gas stations has convinced the general public that designer drugs are safer than their illicit counterparts. The fact is that the majority of designer drug components have not been tested for safety in humans. Moreover, many have reportedly led to severe reactions such as heart attacks, respiratory arrests, or even fatalities.
