Tag: Illicit substances

According to reports from drug trafficking circles, the term **'mother of pearl drug'** is street slang used to describe cocaine hydrochloride with a specific visual characteristic: a pearlescent, flaked sheen. The presence of this sheen is often associated with a higher purity of the illegal drug, which increases its potency and danger to users.

According to a July 2023 report by Public Health Scotland, illicit tablets known as the “red apple drug” were found to contain the potent opioid tapentadol, causing severe adverse effects including confusion and hallucinations. This exemplifies the extreme danger of contaminated street drugs, which can contain entirely different, and often far more lethal, substances than what is advertised or expected.

According to the Department of Justice, illicit tablets imprinted with logos like smiley faces are a common way for dealers to market and brand illegal substances, particularly MDMA. What is the drug called a smiley face pill is a question that reveals a dangerous reality, as the emblem offers no guarantee of a pill's actual content or purity.

While fentanyl and cocaine dominate headlines, hundreds of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) have been reported globally. Determining what is the rarest street drug is a complex task, influenced by factors from chemical synthesis to regional demand, as the illicit market constantly shifts and adapts.