The ... high school student died on Mother's Day. Her mother spent the night before ... ... Her ... body ... reached 108 degrees. Her blood cells boiled. She bled f
The 18-year-old high school student died on Mother's Day. Her mother spent the night before helplessly watching. Her daughter's body temperature reached 108 degrees. Her blood cells boiled. She bled from her mouth. Was it a rare tropical fever that had caused such a horrible death? No. It was a little tan tablet called PMA.
Overview
PMA is an illegal hallucinogen with effects similar to Ecstasy. PMA is made in clandestine laboratories and has become popular with teenagers. The drug is usually sold in a tablet form with the Mitsubishi diamond emblem stamped into it. Most PMA tablets are tan, and are a little bigger than an aspirin.
Hidden Danger
Every year more high school students go to rave clubs. Once inside, drugs such as Ecstasy are easily purchased. Stricter control of chemicals used to make Ecstasy have made it expensive and difficult to buy. Illicit drug chemists sought alternatives. PMA was the answer.
Most dance drugs raise body temperature, but PMA can send it soaring to 108 degrees. Chemicals to make PMA are easy to find. It's cheaper to make. PMA is sold as Ecstasy for a healthy profit.
Drug dealers don't care if they hurt or kill, as long as they are making money. By the time a teenager realizes he or she has made a serious mistake, it is too late. Depending on purity and dosage, the teenager could spend the rest of his or her life boiling to death internally on a rave club floor.
PMA causes users to feel euphoric and energized. Users hug and kiss each other. This often leads to sexual activity -sometimes right on the dance floor. People who use PMA say that their sense of touch, smell, and sight are more acute. Others report mild hallucinations.
Purity and dosage varies from tablet to tablet. Even tablets from the same batch of PMA vary. One tablet provides a user with the expected experience, while the next one out of the bag kills the unlucky teenager who chooses it.
But That's Not All...
Yaba is a synthetic Methamphetamine-like drug. It produces disturbing hallucinations. Kids call these "eyelid movies." Yaba is dangerous because it is simple to make. Kids can find everything they need to make it around the corner at the grocery store.
The main ingredients are salt, household cleaning products, distilled cold medicines, and lithium from camera batteries. Any kid with a D in chemistry can follow an Internet formula using two of his mother's casserole dishes. Worse yet, food coloring, sweeteners, and artificial aromas are added, making Yaba look, smell, and taste like candy. This will make the drug more appealing to middle and elementary school students.
What Can be Done?
The police continue to take small amounts of drugs off the streets. But that won't make much of a difference. What will make a difference and save young lives are parents like you. Educate yourself about PMA and other drugs. Then educate your kids. You must make a difference.
About the Author
Jeff Morelock is a former police narcotics detective who worked undercover drug investigations. His undercover assignments included posing as a high school student to investigate drug sales in a high school
He is the author of an 18-chapter drug education and prevention guide for parents and teachers titled, "Drugs in High School - The Disturbing Truth." It has been nationally recognized by the National Clearing House for Alcohol and Drug Information. It is available directly from the author by sending a check for $25.00 (shipping included) to:
Jeff Morelock
500 Belcher Road # 68
Largo, FL. 33771
