The Poison Review

(Note: if the video above does not play, you can see it here.)

Use of a drug preliminarily identified as the hallucinatory stimulant 2 C-E caused the death of one teenager yesterday and left one other in critical condition after a spring break party in Blaine, Minnesota.  The Canadian Press reports that 9 other teens and young adults were hospitalized but have since been released.

2 C-E is a phenethylamine structurally related to 2 C-B, which as TPR reported last year is an alpha-1 and serotonin agonist. According to Wikipedia — in a post which unfortunately is poorly sourced — 2 C-E has an onset of 20-90 minutes and duration of 10 – 12 hours or more.  Effects include auditory and visual hallucinations and distortions.  As a phenethylamine one would expect 2 C-E also to cause hypertension, hyperthermia, and tachycardia, but there is — as is often the case with designer drugs — no medical literature on the toxicology of this substance.Users have also described vomiting, itching, tense muscles, diarrhea, a “disconnection from one’s digestive tract”, and a “profound feeling of general discomfort”.

In the piece posted above that aired on the CBS News Early Show this morning, Dr. Jennifer Ashton points out that the slow onset of 2 C-E may lead users to underestimate its potency and take additional doses.  The drug is still unscheduled in the U.S. and still legally available over the internet. It often is distributed under the name “Europa”.

Thanks to DoseNation whose post led me to this story.