Law enforcement officials and parents are concerned about the next in a long line of illegal synthetic drugs: 2C-I, also known as “Smiles.”
The drug, a hallucinogen, has been linked to two deaths in East Grand Forks, North Dakota, though little is known about this drug’s dangers. Other synthetic drugs, including K2 or “fake weed,” have caused problems by proliferating before being made illegal.
“There is hardly any research at all in the scientific literature on these things, even in animals, much less any sort of formal safety evaluation in humans,” said Matthew Johnson, a professor of behavioral pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University.
A new high
2C-I is part of the 2C family of drugs, a group of closely related molecules that have psychedelic effects. Along with the other 2Cs, 2C-I was discovered by chemist and synthetic-drug guru Alexander Shulgin, who published the formulas of psychoactive drugs in his book “PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story.” As of July 2012, the Drug Enforcement Administration classifies 2C-I as a Schedule I controlled substance, making it illegal to manufacture, buy, sell or possess the drug. [Trippy Tales: The History of 8 Hallucinogens]