Crime & Safety

New 'Legal' LSD Drug is Making the Rounds

Chemicals in N-Bomb are dangerous, authorities say

Another so-called "legal" version of a drug has surfaced, along with reports it has caused deaths and serious illnesses.

The synthetic drug known as "N-Bomb" has been linked to deaths in other parts of the country, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

The liquid drug is often called "legal acid" and is derived from mescaline, but has a different chemical compound. Users typically take the drug by ingesting blotter paper soaked with the liquid, similar to LSD.

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The chemicals in synthetic drugs produce a high that mimics other drugs. Bath salts, for example, are supposed to produce a high like cocaine or methamphetamine, while the newer N-Bomb is a hallucinogenic, like LSD.

The Drug Enforcement Administration outlawed the chemicals in bath salts last year, but the products surfaced again quickly with a slightly different makeup.

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That's the problem with synthetic drugs, police say. As soon as one is made illegal, criminals come up with new chemicals.

Chesterfield Patch, near St. Louis, reported earlier this month that a mom believes N-Bomb almost killed her daughter at a New Year's Eve party.

Carley B. Alves said she learned about the hallucinogenic N-Bomb, a potent, LSD-like substance, after her 15-year-old daughter was brought home from the party in an incoherent state.

"Every time she would open her eyes she would see bright lights, so she had to keep her eyes closed," Alves said. "Her perception of sound changed. She thought she was whispering, but she was told she was screaming. She also had uncontrollable body movements and then she also had — which is the scariest part — difficulty breathing."

The drug, sometimes also called "Smiles" is known as N-Bomb for its chemical compositions, 2C-1-NBOMe or 251NBOMe, and can be extremely potent and dangerous, police say.

The St. Louis Post Dispatch reported that the drug was banned in Virginia last year and later outlawed in Louisiana after a 21-year-old man died at a New Orleans music festival in November. 

A 21-year-old man Texas man died after taking the drug at a party in June, according to the Houston Chonicle.

N-Bomb is sold primarily on the Internet. It usually comes in powder form, then is liquefied and absorbed into blotter paper.

Another synthetic drug, K2, was sold openly and referred to as "legal marijuana" before its chemicals were banned by the DEA.

In September, the Ohio State Highway Patrol found another new type of hallucinogenic drug in the area.

Strips of 2C-E, which produces psychedelic effects similar to LSD or Ecstasy -- but with more intense and longer-lasting results -- were confiscated from a car.

While the drug, sometimes referred to as "Europa," has been distributed for several years, it appears to be making its first inroads into this area.

The chemicals in 2C-E were banned in July.


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