How To Identify Fake Meth, Risks & Effects of Addiction

How To Identify Fake Meth, Risks & Effects of Addiction

According to the DEA, the drug supply in the United States is increasingly corrupted with fake drugs. With a little knowledge, you can detect fake meth and protect yourself and your loved ones against unknown side effects. It can be difficult to identify fake meth and fake crystal meth. Real meth is identifiable in several different forms: including powders, crystal-like substances, and even a thick goo as meth base. Drug dealers often mix meth with different dyes when certain looks are trending, whereas pure meth is entirely colorless.

How to know if meth is real? Fake meth is a dangerous substance that’s trending in the U.S. among young adults. Its ingredients are usually unknown but may include fentanyl. Simple tests are available to identify the presence of fentanyl and other drugs in fake meth that can lead to overdose. Being able to identify fake meth and fake blue meth is important to reduce the risk of fatal overdose that comes with its use.

According to documents filed in federal court in Rhode Island, a Cumberland, RI, man has agreed to plead guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine in connection with the seizure of approximately 660,500 methamphetamine-laced fake Adderall pills or Adderall laced with meth, the largest known seizure of its kind in the country, announced United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island.

Fake Meth Test Kits

Harm reduction kits and drug test are available that use specific reagents to identify a wide range of compounds, including the Marquis, Simon’s, Froehde, Liebermann, Mandelin, Mecke, and Folin reagents.

In the tests, a drop of reagent is added to a small amount of the meth. Color changes are then observed.

The Marquis test is generally the first one used. Possible results include:

• Amphetamine/methamphetamine: light orange fading to brown
• Fentanyl: brown fading to dark brown
• MDMA (ecstasy): purple fading to black
• Bath salts (cathinones): yellow
• Other opioids including heroin, codeine, etc.: colors ranging from magenta to violet
• Cocaine: no reaction

While these tests may be useful when a dealer sells heavily adulterated or fake crystal meth, they are less useful when meth is still present but is heavily diluted with compounds that don’t react with the reagent. These reactions are also highly subject to inconclusive results and user error.

​Melting Point Tests

This test uses the melting point of meth to identify imitation or heavily diluted products.

First, the drug is heated in mineral or cooking oil until melted, with a thermometer present. When heat is removed crystals will begin to form as the temperature drops:

• Pure methamphetamine crystalizes quickly at around 170˚C.
• Meth laced or fake methamphetamine will crystalize more slowly at a lower temperature

Fake Meth Addiction Statistics

In July 2012, the U.S. Government passed Pub.L. 112- 144, the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act (SDAPA), that classified a number of synthetic substances under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. SDAPA placed these substances in the most restrictive category of controlled substances.

Cannabimimetic agents, including 15 synthetic cannabinoid compounds identified by name, two synthetic cathinone compounds (mephedrone and MDPV), and nine synthetic hallucinogens known as the 2C family, were restricted by this law. In addition, methylone and ten (10) synthetic cathinones that were subject to temporary control were permanently controlled by DEA through the administrative process.

Another synthetic cathinone, N-ethylbentylone, was temporarily controlled in 2018. Other synthetic cathinones may be subject to prosecution under the Controlled Substance Analogue Enforcement Act which allows these dangerous substances to be treated as Schedule I controlled substances if certain criteria can be met.

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How to Tell if Meth is Fake?

Because it can be made of several different substances, fake meth is difficult to identify. It will often resemble real meth or crystal meth, a pure form of methamphetamine.

What Does Fake Meth Look Like?

Fake meth is white and often in powder form, like meth. It can also have a flaky texture or even resemble small shards of glass, like crystal methamphetamine. However, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently stated that it’s being found more frequently in pill form. Law enforcement officials in several cities have shared pictures of fake meth next to real meth, to bring awareness to the difficulty in being able to tell the difference between them.

What Does Fake Meth Taste Like?

Just as it looks the same as real meth, fake meth and fake meth crystals tastes like real meth too. The powder and pills have a bitter taste. Fake meth and fake meth crystals could have a slightly bitter, sweet, or salty taste when smoked or snorted.

What Does Fake Meth Smell Like?

Meth and crystal meth are odorless. However, the chemicals involved in making fake meth typically produce a chemical-like scent when the drug is smoked.

Dangers Of Fake Meth Use

Using real meth comes with its own laundry list of risks. The upside is that you generally know what to expect, and you can choose to prepare and protect your own safety.

With fake meth and fake pills, you have no idea how it will affect your body, because you usually don’t know what you’re taking.

Heart Attack

Heart attacks are a very real risk with fake meth. Fentanyl in particular is associated with a remarkably high incidence of chest pains followed by heart attack.

Bath salts also come with cardiac risks, but they are usually associated with cardiomyopathy. This condition weakens the heart muscles, making you more susceptible to heart attack and stroke.

Fake Meth Addiction Treatment

First and foremost, if you think a loved one is abusing fake meth, you should research the substances and their associated addiction to understand better what your loved one needs.  Next, you must plan an intervention to provide your loved ones with options to battle the effects of fake meth addiction in a safe and supportive environment. During this intervention, offer compassion and support instead of judgment. Lastly, show your support throughout the entire treatment process.

In addition, prolonged drug use can have severe physical and psychological effects on you, so it is essential to seek treatment as soon as possible. Inpatient drug rehab offers intensive care that can help you promptly get through the early stages of fake meth withdrawal. 

Fake Meth Detox

Medical detox is often considered the first stage of treatment. It will help you navigate the complicated fake meth detox withdrawal but doesn’t address patterns of thought and behavior contributing to drug use. Various treatment approaches and settings can help provide the ongoing support necessary to maintain long-term sobriety after you complete the fake meth detox.

Cravings are very common during drug detox and can be challenging to overcome. This often leads to relapse. Constant medical care provided during inpatient treatment helps prevent relapse. Clinicians can give medication and medical expertise to lessen cravings and withdrawal symptoms.

Inpatient Fake Meth Addiction Rehab

There isn’t one treatment approach or style that will suit everyone. Treatment should speak to the needs of the individual. Inpatient rehab and addiction treatment aren’t just about drug use. the goal is to help the patient stop using fake meth and other substances, but drug rehab should also focus on the whole person’s needs.

Addiction is a complex but treatable disease that affects brain function and behavior. When someone or their family is considering different treatment facilities, they should account for the complexity of addiction and the needs of the individual. The objective of attending an inpatient rehab center for addiction treatment is to stop using the drug and re-learn how to live a productive life without it.

Following a full medical detox, most people benefit from inpatient rehab. Inpatient drug rehab can last anywhere from 28 days to several months. Patients stay overnight in the rehab facility and participate in intensive treatment programs and therapy. Once someone completes rehab, their addiction treatment team will create an aftercare plan, which may include continuing therapy and participation in a 12-step program like Narcotics Anonymous.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment

Drug abuse and mental health disorders often co-occur. Traumatic experiences can often result in mental health disorders and substance abuse. Dual-diagnosis rehabilitation treats both of these issues together. The best approach for the treatment of dual diagnosis is an integrated system. This strategy treats both the substance abuse problem and the mental disorder simultaneously. Regardless of which diagnosis (mental health or substance abuse problem) came first, long-term recovery will depend mainly on the treatment for both diseases done by the same team or provider.