Buddha blue: the drug taking over school playgrounds

Head teachers in France are worried. Use of the synthetic drug Buddha blue keeps spreading in secondary schools and sixth-form colleges. Inhaled with an electronic cigarette, it causes nausea, hallucinations and more serious problems. The regional education authorities are sounding the alarm.

Seventeen cases in Calvados

Since the start of the school year, 17 pupils have shown all the symptoms associated with the synthetic drug known as Buddha blue. Some of those children were admitted to hospital as emergencies. Renamed PTC, for “pète ton crâne”, it keeps spreading in the playgrounds of secondary schools and sixth-form colleges. The Caen education authority has even issued a note to all head teachers setting out how to act when a pupil has taken the synthetic drug.

Young people believe Buddha blue will give them the effects of cannabis, but the side effects are in fact very different, because they are far more violent. Two overdose cases have been recorded in Europe, according to Gregory Lange, a member of the French national association for the prevention of alcohol and drug addiction.

What are the effects of Buddha blue?

Buddha blue comes as a colourless, odourless liquid. It is smoked with an electronic cigarette or sprayed on to herbs. Its effects are said to be far more immediate and far more dangerous than those of cannabis.

It does produce a recreational effect, but a short-lived one. Once that has faded, the user may suffer respiratory distress. Headaches are also very common, as are partial paralysis and tachycardia. Some users have experienced hallucinations and bouts of paranoia.

How can minors get hold of Buddha blue?

This synthetic drug circulates freely online, at an unbeatable price. A vial of Buddha blue can be bought for a few dozen euros.

It is mostly manufactured in India or China, two countries where the law on the matter is unclear, or entirely absent.