The synthetic cathinone is gaining the increasing popularity on the territory of the former Soviet Union. Its natural analogue contained in the leaves and scion of khat – the evergreen bush cultivated in Arabia, India, Somalia and Sri Lanka. Chewing khat leaves is a traditional occupation for the residents of the Middle East and East Africa, where this plant has the same social and cultural context, like coffee for Europeans.
Cathinone is similar in structure with amphetamine and ephedrine and when used, it gives similar effects. A mild euphoria, relaxation, muscle relaxation and cardiac acceleration are observed when chewing the leaves. Addicts, however, use this plant in another way. They get the synthetic cathinone from pharmaceuticals by handicraft and use it intravenously.
Such method of drug use gives a stronger effect. Immediately after the injection there is a sense of "nob", after which the addict experiences a surge of strength and desire for physical activity, the mood improves, you feel the cardiac acceleration, shivering and tingling of the skin. At the first shot this state lasts from one to three hours, but within a few times of use the duration reduces to half an hour. At the end of the intoxication the mood changes in the direction of voice activity, and with the high doses it can cause paranoia and hallucinations.
Regular consumption of khat leads to polycardia, insomnia, ulcers, muscle weakness, skin itch and a constant headache. Stopping abusing it is accompanied by apathy, fatigue, decreased appetite and depressive disorders. To give up drugs is not so easy since khat is highly addictive. The frequencies of use by a drug addict rapidly growth from 2-3 times per day to 8-10.
But the worst thing is not even that. Greater danger causes potassium permanent used in handicraft production of the cathinone injection. Within a few months of regular use it causes irreversible damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, resulting in impaired motor and speech functions, paranoid psychosis, paralysis and dementia.
