A.K.A: Bath salts, Eutylone, Flakka (Alpha-PVP), M-Cat (Mephedrone), Monkey Dust (MDPV)
Synthetic Cathinones are a large group of drugs that mimic the effects of the khat plant. They are stimulant drugs, meaning they speed up your brain and body functions.
They are often mis-sold as other drugs such as MDMA, as they can have some similar effects, but are generally active at lower dose and are more unpredictable and unpleasant.
Synthetic Cathinones can make you feel alert, energetic, and confident. They can also make you feel anxious, nauseous, jittery, and feverish. In higher doses, Synthetic Cathinones can put lots of strain on your body, especially your heart.
Caution
In New Zealand some substances being sold as MDMA are actually synthetic cathinones. Synthetic cathinones can have unpleasant and unpredictable effects. Some of these such as alpha-PVP are particularly dangerous.
Related data
New data shows that fatal overdoses are continuing to increase.
Three New Zealanders die each week from preventable drug overdose
A new paper sets out the Drug Foundation's vision for a health-based approach to drug harm