- webmd.com/mental-health/features/new-black-market-designer-drugs-why-now
- webmd.com/mental-health/news/20110816/bath-salts-like-unlike-meth-ecstasy
- webmd.com/mental-health/news/20110908/bath-salts-used-to-get-high-are-now-illegal
Provide names of other journalists involved.
Miranda Hitti — WebMD Laura Martin, MD — WebMD Sean Swint — WebMD
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
New Black Market Designer Drugs: Why Now? published on June 24, 2011. “Bath Salts” Have Effects Similar to Meth, Ecstasy published on Aug. 16, 2011. “Bath Salts” Used to Get High Are Now Illegal published on Sept. 8, 2011.
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
We noticed a trend in online searches from people seeking legal highs — with tragic results, in some cases. We had done an earlier article on this topic and, in light of reader interest and ongoing developments, stepped up our coverage. We wanted our readers to understand what these drugs are and why they’re so risky. In June of 2011, we published a feature explaining what these new psychedelic drugs are, how they differ from psychedelic drugs of the past, why people were taking them, and what their risks were. Our coverage also included two news stories on “bath salts,” slang for a powdery product that contains the drug mephedrone, usually mixed with other chemicals. The first news story was on research on the effects of bath salts. The second news story covered the decision of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to declare “bath salts” illegal. We also learned that by the middle of 2011, U.S. poison control centers had received 4,137 calls about bath salt “exposures,” up from 303 such calls in 2010. Our coverage included talking with the DEA, advocates of drug experimentation, researchers, and other experts. WebMD Senior Medical Writer Daniel J. DeNoon traced the dangerous effects of online access to illicit drugs, the impact on legitimate research, and, according to some experts, a real (if misguided) spiritual quest on the parts of some psychedelic drug users. We found a multifaceted world of drug use, and that researchers are discovering medical uses for some of these compounds, thought they do not encourage lay use of illicit and/or illegal drugs. We warned that the products contained unknown, unlabeled, and potentially lethal amounts of dangerous compounds.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Research began with a search of the PubMed database for all articles on amphetamine and hallucinogenic drugs. We continued with recent books on the subject. And we wanted to know what drug users themselves were reading, so we explored web sites dedicated to drug use. This eventually led us to the easily available cookbooks describing how to make and use a series of psychoactive chemicals.
Explain types of human sources used.
Our stories relied heavily on interviews, both on and off the record: •For the law enforcement perspective, we spoke with a DEA special agent. •For the addiction/abuse perspective, we spoke with the deputy director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. •For the science and research perspective, we spoke with the inventor of many of the drugs in question. •For the advocacy perspective, we spoke with a psychotherapist who wrote a book on the healing use of psychedelic compounds.
Results:
Our coverage contributed to national awareness of the issues involved with these drugs.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
n/a
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
When writing about dangerous and even criminal activities, it’s tempting to do an “ain’t it awful” story. It’s harder — but important — to go beyond that and ask, “Why do people do this?” And it can be even harder still the question, “How are they like us?” Don’t shy away from the very real dangers posed by the use of illicit drugs. But don’t just ask, “What is wrong with drugs?” We also asked the question, “Why do people take designer drugs?” We were surprised at what we found.