The drug is often described as a legal and natural alternative to LSD, medical experts warn it can easily kill

Apr 10, 2015 06:38 GMT  ·  By

In a new report, medical experts at Vanderbilt University in the US sound the alarm over a relatively new designer drug that they say can easily kill users, should they make the mistake of consuming a tad too much of it. 

The drug in question is officially known as 251-NBOMe. However, people like to refer to it simply as N-bomb. It is available over the Internet, and the folks selling it often describe it as a natural and legal alternative to LSD.

N-bomb was initially meant for medical research

Together with other substances that belong to what specialists call the NBOMe class of drugs, N-bomb was developed to stimulate the brain so that scientists could map serotonin receptors. Otherwise put, it was created for medical research.

In recent years, however, N-bomb and other NBOMe drugs have become substitutes for cocaine, ecstasy and other illegal substances. The drugs have psychoactive properties, and guys and gals turn to them for recreational purposes.

In fact, specialists say that these drugs now count themselves among the most popular and most abused novel psychoactive substances. They can be ingested, sniffed or simply inserted into the body, and standard drug tests too often fail to be detect them.

Besides, they are less expensive than cocaine, ecstasy and the like, and are easier to come by. Hence, people can easily abuse them and end up in the hospital as a result, sometimes even die. It is believed that since 2010 until now N-bomb alone has caused at least 17 deaths in the US.

The most common symptoms of N-bomb abuse

In their report, the Vanderbilt University team explains that the symptoms associated with N-bomb overdose are hypertension, a rapid and irregular heartbeat, fever, agitation, dilated pupils, delirium and aggressiveness.

In extreme cases, N-bomb users can experience hallucinations, seize, suffer kidney failure, and even turn comatose. “The quality control on these street drugs is nonexistent, and misjudging a dose could lead to significant toxicity,” warns specialist Donna Seger.