“Smiles” – a deceptive name for a killer drug
A recent user of 2C-I, also known on the street as “Smiles” posted in a forum that the high is a “roller coaster ride through hell.” Another warned users “do not drive on this drug.”
2C-1 is a synthetic drug reportedly more potent than Spice, K-2 or bath salts. It first surfaced at parties in Europe and has now made its way to the U.S. YouTube videos have been posted by users of the drug relating their experiences. Users have reported a speedy charge from the drug along with intense visual and aural hallucinations that can last between a few hours up to five days.
"Smiles" - 2C-I
Several deaths have been reported in North Dakota and overdoses in other states including Indiana and Minneapolis. Alijah Stai was 17 when he ate a chocolate bar laced with 2C-I. He started to feel sick and proceeded to smash his head on the ground. Two hours later, on June 15, 2012, he stopped breathing. Another teen from the same area, 18-year-old Christian Bjerk, was found face-down on the sidewalk on June 11, 2012. His death was linked to 2C-I. Wesley Sweeney pleaded guilty in federal court to dealing synthetic drugs that resulted in a death. In November, 2012, Sweeney was sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison.
The fact that 2C-I is new and undetectable in standard drug tests makes it more difficult for doctors to identify and treat. Teens who overdose on the drug end up in the emergency room with a physical complaint. If the drug can’t be identified, appropriate treatment is difficult if not impossible to administer.
Christian Bjerk
Elijah Stai
The federal government launched “Operation Log Jam” in July, 2012. It’s the first nationwide program to target synthetic designer drugs. 2C-I is listed as a Schedule 1 substance, making possession and distribution of the drug illegal.
Thank you for your comments and the information, Dylan. We will continue to update our readers with information about synthetic drugs and other substances as we learn more.
This post is completely misinformed. 2c-i, along with 2c-b and 2c-e are all weak psychedelics– nothing more than cheap knock-offs of LSD. They are chemically unrelated to spice or bath salts, and thus the “high” or potency cannot be compared, as these drugs all have completely different effects on the body. As for 2c-i specifically, it provides a short lived “trip” similar to LSD, but with a quicker onset and shorter duration. The visual hallucinations are nothing more than your brain re-organizing the information it receives from your eyes in a different way than it normally would. In other words, a user will not see things that aren’t there, but rather notice things such as fractal patterns on surfaces or the walls “breathing.” There are no aural hallucinations associated with this drug.
2c-i itself is non-lethal. It can, however, be manufactured incorrectly, resulting in a potentially lethal “bad batch,” as was the North Dakota tragedies. If you’ll notice, all the tragedies mentioned in this article took place around the same time in the same town, in which police warned citizens of a lethal batch of 2c-i that was circulating the area.
Judge Tom, if you are going to try to inform kids about drugs, please be informed yourself.