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What Is Pink, The New Drug Stronger Than Heroin, But Legal In Most States?

By Amy Feinstein
Published on: 00:15 PST, Oct 19, 2016

Pink, the new synthetic opioid, is not only gaining in popularity, but in 46 states, it is still legal to be delivered directly to your home for less money that heroin or Oxycodone. But Pink, also known as U-47700, is eight times stronger than heroin, is finding its way into the hands of children, and it can be lethal if just touched to the skin. The drug has already been responsible for several deaths.

Pink is part of a new breed of synthetic drugs, like Flakka or bath salts, that is staying just ahead of new laws, according to The Inquisitr. But while Pink is a depressant, Flakka is a stimulant that makes the heart beat faster and causes the user to exhibit superhuman strength and erratic behavior. It also causes paranoia, sweating, and potentially hallucinations. The main ingredient in Flakka was banned in 2014, and is ripe for abuse.

Recently, in Park City, Utah, two 13 year old boys died within two days of each other from an overdose of Pink that was delivered to their homes through the mail. The boys, Ryan Ainsworth and his best friend Grant Seaver, passed away after ordering and using the drug Pink. The boys had heard about Pink through social media on Snapchat, says NBC News.

Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter says that access to Pink is far too easy.

“This stuff is so powerful that if you touch it, you could go into cardiac arrest. The problem is if you have a credit card and a cell phone, you have access to it.”

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The FDA is sharing a description of Pink, which can come in a variety of forms.

“Pink, better known by chemists as U-47700, is eight times stronger than heroin, and is part of a family of deadly synthetic opioids, all of them more powerful than heroin, that includes ifentanyl, carfentanil and furanyl fentanyl. By themselves or mixed with other drugs, in forms ranging from pills to powder to mists, they’re killing thousands of people across the country, say law enforcement and health officials. The powerful, ersatz opioids are part of a surge of synthetic drugs, including bath salts and mock-ups of ecstasy, being shipped into the U.S. from China and other nations.”

Ordering Pink is as easy as going online and searching Google, but only four states — Florida, Ohio, Wyoming and Georgia — have passed laws to make the drug illegal.

The police investigation is underway in Park City, Utah to find out how the drug Pink got into the hands of the two 13-year-olds, says the Salt Lake City Tribune. For now, police say that they believe the drug was mailed from China to a teenaged female who said it was shipped to her home because the friend who ordered it has his mail searched for drugs by his parents. After delivering the Pink to the boy in his late teens who had placed the order, that boy gave it to the two younger boys who were found dead.

The DEA has been looking into classifying Pink as an illegal substance throughout the country.

“On Sept. 7, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced it was temporarily classifying U-47700 as an illegal Schedule 1 drug ‘to avoid an imminent hazard to the public safety;.”

The DEA defines Schedule 1 drugs as substances or chemicals with no specific medical use and a high probability of abuse.

Have you seen ads for Pink online?

[Featured Image by Henry Guttmann/Getty Images]

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