A new form of methamphetamine, known as P2P, is sweeping the U.S., causing a wave of mental illness and homelessness. Developed in Mexico by drug traffickers, P2P gained popularity as states legalized marijuana, according to an article in The Atlantic. As pot revenue faltered, many producers switched to making meth, which was easy to make and transport. In the Southwest, the drug quickly became more prevalent, and then spread all the way to New England. And is P2P took over, an unprecedented shift took place in American drug use: opioid addicts began using meth en masse and meth overdoses soared, even though you don’t typically die overdose or die on meth. In many states where substance users took withdrawal meds to get off drugs, they began substituting meth to get high. Traffickers were therefore able to create a new population of mentally ill Americans.
Meanwhile, a new national study has found widespread misperceptions about medical marijuana: about 42 percent of breast cancer patients use medical marijuana to treat symptoms—and that half of these individuals believe that medical cannabis could treat the disease itself, although there is no scientific evidence from human trials to support that idea. Patients use pot to relieve pain and for insomnia, as well as for anxiety, stress, or nausea. Most were unaware that the quality of cannabis products can vary widely, and saw the drug as a natural product that is better than “chemicals.” The study warned that patients and doctors need more information about marijuana because the drug could interfere with some treatments or make patients vulnerable to new side effects.
And finally, as more and more states legalize marijuana, law enforcement has voiced concerns about the impact of drugged driving, noting that there is no equivalent of the Breathalyzer test for drugs. Now, scientists say they have developed a rapid test that reliably detects THC—the psychoactive component of pot—in saliva in under 5 minutes. Currently, THC can be tested in the bloodstream or urine, but this takes days to process. THC in saliva reflects use within the past 12 hours, which means it could become a critical tool in determining drugged driving as marijuana becomes legal and more drivers casually use the drug, with a resulting increase in traffic crashes and fatalities.