MDPV Takes Your Favorite Drugs and Makes Them Druggier

Designer drugs.  Bath salts.  Research chemicals.  Synthetic cathinones go by many names, but, with a few variations in the details, they can all get you into major legal trouble if police find them in your possession.  Synthetic cathinones are so called because their chemical structure resembles cathinone, the stimulant chemical found in the leaves of the khat plant, which are popularly chewed at social gatherings in Yemen and parts of East Africa.  Cathinone itself has been a Schedule I controlled substance in the United States since 1993, and it is illegal to sell the khat plant.  One type of synthetic cathinone is methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), which often appears mixed with cocaine in the illegal drug supply.  If you are being accused of illegal possession of synthetic cathinones, contact a Florida drug offenses attorney.

What Is MDPV, and Why Is It So Illegal?

Like all synthetic cathinones, MDPV is a central nervous system stimulant.  It increases heart rate, blood pressure, and alertness and suppresses appetite.  People who have used it have described its effects as similar to amphetamines, cocaine, and Ritalin.  MDPV is also highly addictive; laboratory studies on rats indicated that MDPV is at least as addictive as cocaine.  Today, it is often used recreationally in combination with cocaine, since it is believed that the two drugs amplify each other’s effects.

High doses of MDPV can cause a dangerously fast heart rate.  In the emergency room, MDPV overdose is usually treated with benzodiazepines or anti-psychotics, and if these do not work, with anesthesia.

MDPV has been a Schedule I controlled substance since 2004.  Before that, it was frequently sold at gas stations in Florida and labeled as “bath salts” or similar designations.

Florida Woman Arrested After Sheriff’s Deputies Find MDPV in Hotel Room

In the summer of 2023, the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office investigated suspected drug dealing activity by Tiffany Raines.  One day, they stopped Raines as she was entering the room at the motel in Riviera Beach where she was staying with her one-year-old child.  In the room, they found slightly less than a gram of MDPV, 2.7 grams of cocaine packaged for sale, and drug paraphernalia.  They later searched Raines’ apartment, where they found at least one firearm and an unspecified quantity of illegal drugs.

Raines was charged with drug trafficking, firearms offenses, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of cocaine with intent to sell, and child neglect.  The family court placed her child in the custody of one of her family members while the case against Raines is pending.  News reports did not specify whether Raines has entered a plea and whether anyone else has been charged in connection with the drugs found at her residence and motel room.

Contact FL Drug Defense Group About Drug Cases

A Central Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are being accused of possession of synthetic cathinones or other Schedule I controlled substances.  Contact FL Drug Defense Group in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/riviera-beach/riviera-beach-woman-conducted-cocaine-sale-with-baby-present-police-say