The blue buddha worries parents. Nearly 4% of young people under the age of 17 have experienced it at least once, according to a study published in 2018. This synthetic drug appeared a few years ago and has been circulating in France since 2014. Accessible for a ten euros on the Internet, it comes in the form of a liquid to put in an electronic cigarette, according to 20 minutes.
According to Laurent Karila, professor of addictology, psychiatrist at the Paul-Brousse hospital, “the effects are quite similar to those of cannabis at first. Between feeling calm and relaxing, the effects then give way to hallucinations, to “a feeling that what surrounds us is not real, that our body comes out of our body”.
“The big difference with cannabis is that there are more overdoses, whether fatal or not, and more complications,” says the professor. This drug, also nicknamed “PTC” for “Blow Your Head Out”, can cause depression, hallucinations, tachycardia, and respiratory distress. It is produced by Chinese and Indian laboratories.
“It’s much, much more dangerous to health than cannabis,” summarizes the psychiatrist. And in a young person who does not yet have a formed brain, the risk is even higher. In early February, three high school students from Sucy-en-Brie, in Val-de-Marne, were hospitalized after inhaling it. Odorless, it can even be received discreetly by La Poste. Illegal, the blue buddha can be bought on the Internet and only costs a few tens of euros. Accessibility favored by products “very marketed, very colorful, with somewhat funky names”, specifies Laurent Karila.
