The Superman drug: characteristics and effects

What are the dangers of this disturbing new psychoactive substance?

The use of the Superman drug is spreading throughout the world.What are the characteristics of this drug and what are its dangerous effects?

In the world we live in, the use of substances for recreational purposes is a relatively frequent phenomenon, with those who take them seeking new sensory and cognitive experiences, escape from the problems of everyday life, get active, relax or experience a temporary enhancement of an expansive mood.

All these reasons make that for some people the world of drugs seen in a recreational way is a business to profit from, which causes that new versions of substances with psychoactive effects are constantly being created. One of these substances whose appearance is relatively recent is the paramethoxymethamphetamine or Superman drug.

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The Superman or Superhero pill.

The superman drug, paramethoxymethamphetamine or PMMA is a dangerous psychoactive substance that falls under the classification of designer drug. This type of substance is classified as a psychodysleptic substance, since as a general rule it produces alterations in the body.It is a dangerous psychoactive substance that generally produces alterations in perception and a variation of the usual psychic activity.

Derived from the amphetamine family, if we analyze the composition of the Superman drug we can find a combination of methamphetamines and ecstasy, this combination having a much higher potency than any of its parts separately. This potency makes PMMA a very dangerous drug, which, together with the relatively little knowledge of its characteristics on the part of those who consume it, makes some authors consider it even more worrying than cocaine. It is generally sold and bought as if it were ecstasy, the consumer not knowing the type of potency or risks involved in what they are taking.

Characteristics

Visually, this substance usually has a typical presentation, being generally red, pink, orange or yellow, diamond-shaped and with a diamond shape.It is usually diamond-shaped, with the iconic S of Superman on both sides.

The origin of this substance can be found in Northern European countries, being a synthetic drug elaborated by means of chemical products in a laboratory in order to emulate the characteristics of drugs of natural origin. It is a relatively recent substance that began to be regulated within our borders in 2002, although its appearance is earlier. Its consumption is not yet common in our borders, but despite this, in recent years its popularity has increased, with some cases of individuals dying from its consumption. For this reason, it is necessary to it is necessary to increase the precaution and social alert before its presence in our territory..

What effects does this substance produce?

Taking into account that it is a psychodysleptic in whose composition mainly ecstasy and methamphetamines are involved, the type of effects that the Superman drug has is easily guessed according to those produced by the substances that compose it.

Paramethoxymethamphetamine has mainly an excitatory effect, causing an increase in the nervous activation of the brain.. Such activation produces social disinhibition and feelings of euphoria and well-being, similar to (but more intense than) other drugs in the amphetamine family. This causes its users to feel more sociable, cheerful and capable. It generates an increase in activity and affects the emotional, physical, cognitive and perceptual levels. It can increase the level of perception of the environment or even cause the presence of delusions (usually of grandeur) and even hallucinations. Despite the latter, its main effect is stimulating and not hallucinatory.

At the physiological level, the consumption of the Superman drug causes an acceleration of the metabolism and cardiorespiratory activity, increasing the consumption of oxygen and nutrients of the organism and thus inducing an increase in body temperature and the sensation of greater physical and sexual strength and power. Heart rate and Blood Pressure increase greatly, which can lead to serious health problems.which can lead to serious health problems. Due to the increase in energy, it usually causes the consumer to increase the level of physical activity he/she performs, reaching worrying extremes. It has a diuretic effect, causing the need to urinate frequently.

How does it act at the neurochemical level?

The Superman drug exerts its effect through the inhibition of the reuptake of monoamines, especially dopamine and noradrenaline. It also causes an increase in their release while temporarily inhibiting the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO), which degrades serotonin. All this causes the level of neurotransmitters acting in the brain to be very high at a general level, which can cause different effects in those who consume the drug...

PMMA acts by binding to the membranes of neurons to gradually release the drug inside them (which is why its effect takes time to be noticed) in such a way that it can alter the neurons' ability to discharge impulses. In fact, this produces that the effect of this drug takes place between thirty minutes and an hour after its consumption, being such effects relatively delayed (it is usual that they begin to be noticed approximately three quarters of an hour after consumption). Its permanence in the nervous system is long and it takes time to be eliminated, and can cause serious neuronal problems due to an accumulation of the substance..

A substance that poses serious health risks

The Superman or PMMA drug has a very high toxicity, as the doses that can be administered are very close to those of PMMA.The doses that cause an effect on the organism and those that produce harmful effects on health are very close to each other. In fact, a single tablet of PMMA can be potent enough to kill. It is considered that from fifty milligrams this substance produces intoxication, while in one dose can be found from fifty to three hundred.

The adverse effects produced by this substance include a dramatic and harmful increase in body temperature, which can reach very high fevers in a short time. It is frequent that the elevation of heart rate and blood pressure produced by PMMA ends up generating arrhythmias, angina pectoris and even myocardial infarction. Respiratory difficulties, dizziness, dehydration and convulsions are other symptoms of intoxication.. 

Necrosis and risk of death

Many muscle fibers tend to break down due to the high level of agitation and physical activation, and the associated increase in diuresis causes rapid fluid loss. The kidney and liver can also be seriously damaged, resulting in tissue necrosis.. In general, the effects of superman or PMMA intoxication can cause multi-organ failure of multiple body systems, which is a frequent cause of death by overdose.

In addition, the fact that the Superman drug has a delayed effect, since it takes between thirty minutes and an hour to begin to take effect, can lead to the consumption of more than one dose when the consumer considers that the substance has not had any effect, or the added consumption of other drugs. Considering that a single pill already has enough potency to produce intoxication and even death, the risk involved increases exponentially.

Bibliographic references:

• Becker, J.; Neis, P.; Röhrich, J. & Zörntlein, S. (2003). A fatal paramethoxymethamphetamine intoxication. Legal Medicine, 5. Suppl. 1: 138-41.
• Young, R.; Dukat, M.; Malmusi, L. & Glennon, R. A. (1999). Stimulus properties of PMMA: effect of optical isomers and conformational restriction. Pharmacology and Biochemistry of Behaviour, 64, 449–453.