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STUDENTS INCREASINGLY TURN TO SYNTHETIC DRUGS TO GET HIGH

An easily accessible drug, often called White Lightning, has made its way onto Eastern's campus. 

The drug, known as "legal cocaine," has become popular for being just that - legal, and cheap. 

"It won't show up in urine, [and] it's cheap," said Henry Spiller, director of Poison Control in Louisville.  "This is why people are buying it, to replace other drugs, like methamphetamine and cocaine."

Being packaged as a variety of products, such as bug repellant, bath salts and plant food, the drug has yet to be regulated by the FDA. 

Spiller said the substance began making an appearance in Kentucky around late fall and has evolved into an issue all over the state.  Users are typically in their 20s and have a history with illegal drug addiction. 

Effects of White Lightning include agitation, paranoia and hallucinations. 

"I don't mean hallucinations like [those from] LSD, but combative behavior, like people are coming to get them," Spiller said.  "They were calling it bath salt or bug repellant, everything, but what it really is - a drug.  Those products don't do that to a person."

Spiller said blood samples from patients contained MDPV, a stimulant that has never been tested in humans nor intended for use in humans.  He said it is one of many "analogs," which are altered versions of illegal drugs. 

"This is what is sending people to the ER," Spiller said.  "This has never been seen before.  It is very new, so we are learning ( about it ) as we go."

Many students, like Ben Prewitt, say they know a lot of students who do White Lightning, but other than the reasoning for doing it, they know very little about the actual substance. 

"People snort it to feel like they are on cocaine," said Prewitt, a 20-year-old sophomore from Williamsburg.  "That's basically all there is to it."

But Spiller said while it offers a pleasurable euphoric feeling, it is not the same and causes harmful damages. 

One source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said she watched her best friend spiral down after she began using white lightning. 

"At first she told me it's like a diet pill that makes you happy.  I believed her," the source said.  "I then began to see less and less of her.  We had always been so alike, I knew something was wrong when she began to act different, mostly careless as if she was on top of the world and nobody else mattered."

The source warned, while White Lightning is legal, it's dangers can compare to those of illegal substances. 

"I would say if you have an addictive personality, don't use this drug.  It's as addictive as anything else.  I love my friend, but I hate White Lightning.  I've seen firsthand how it affects people," she said. 

Spiller said, initially, there were 20 White Lightning cases in the first couple of months, but that number has increased to roughly 20 cases in the past two weeks. 

He and a Louisiana colleague believed the drug is being created outside the U.S.  with New Orleans being the port of entry.  They are still looking for facts, such as the endurance and half-life, which is the time period it takes for a dying substance to decrease by half. 

Brandi Reynolds, a 20-year-old sophomore from Cincinnati, said she believes the "high" effect of the drug is short-lived. 

"I have a friend that does White Lightning before work to stay energized," Reynolds said.  "She will sometimes do it every 20 minutes."

The drug has been banned in several places, including the state of Louisiana, but in Kentucky it is still found in a variety of gas stations and head shops. 

In Lexington, White Lightning is sold at Purple Haze, a tattoo parlor, as a stain remover. 

A quarter-gram sells for $15, while a gram sells for $45. 

A store clerk at Purple Haze said they recently began taking a copy of the consumer's ID and having them sign a release form, authorizing they will not use the product for any other purpose other than stain

remover.