On April 4, a high school student from Tarbes was hospitalized after vaping “Buddha blue”, a synthetic drug, which is spreading in several French establishments. This substance can have serious consequences on the health of students.
- In 2018 and 2019, the “Buddha blue” already aroused the fears of parents of students and principals of schools located in Brittany and Normandy.
- This synthetic substance comes in several forms: mixture of dried plants, incense, powder or e-liquid for electronic cigarettes.
- The “5FAKB48” molecule has been classified on the list of narcotics since a decree of March 31, 2017.
“Fart your skull (PTC)”, “Spice”, “K2” or “Buddha blue”. These are the names given to a cannabinoid-based synthetic drug that a teenage girl from the Jeanne-d’Arc institution in Tarbes absorbed in the form of e-liquid with an electronic cigarette, before having several faintness and to be admitted to hospital. This week, the high school student is not the only one to have consumed this colorless and odorless substance. According to The voice of the Northseveral students from Camille-Claudel high school in Fourmies were also taken to a health facility after vaping this synthetic drug and losing consciousness.
“I inform you that a product called Buddha blue also called PTC ‘fart your skull’ is currently circulating throughout the Sambre-Avesnois-Thiérache territory. (…) A preventive intervention is scheduled for the start of the spring school holidays in order to make students aware of the extreme toxicity of this narcotic which has dangerous effects”, can we read in a letter, relayed by the regional daily of the north, addressed by the principal of the school to the parents of pupils.
What are the expected effects?
“Buddha blue” is a synthetic chemical substance. Clearly, unlike cannabis, it does not come from a plant and does not contain THC, the psychotropic molecule of cannabis. In this drug, the molecule identified by French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction is named “5FAKB48”. The latter mimics the effects of THC, according to the National Association for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Addiction. The effects expected by users are euphoria, relaxation, a feeling of joy, laughter and hot flashes.
Headaches, paralysis, hallucinations…
The use of this drug is not without risks. And for good reason, the “Buddha blue” can cause respiratory distress, violent headaches, tachycardia, an attack of paranoia, paralysis, hallucinations, strong agitation and nausea, according to the mail intended for parents of students from the Camille-Claudel high school in Fourmies.
“Synthetic ‘cannabis’, including Buddha Blue, can also lead to psychiatric complications (depression, anxiety, amnesic disorders, ‘zombie’ type behavior) or somatic complications (convulsions, loss of consciousness, diffuse pain, acute coronary syndrome , rhabdomyolysis, renal failure)”, develops the National Association for the prevention of alcoholism and addictology, this synthetic drug.
