In recent months, I have become somewhat obsessed with drug culture.

Don’t ask me why but weed, heroin and cocaine use comes up at least once a week during the conversations I have with my friends.

Now we will have one more drug to add to the bunch.

An extreme form of Ecstasy has hit the market and is quickly gaining popularity, especially among people in their teens and 20s.

Extreme ‘X’, as it is being called, is laced with methamphetamines or “crystal meth”. The highly-addictive combination of the drug can produce severe side effects such as sharp increases in body temperature, hypothermia, irregular heartbeats, and even in some cases death.

Being a relative rookie when it comes to drugs, I couldn’t bring myself to take part in a fad drug that may lead to death.

Old-school ecstacy was pretty big at my high school and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought of trying it.

That quickly went out the window when reports began hitting the news of teens dying after only using ecstasy one time.

That scared the hell out of me! You mean to tell me that this drug can kill me after just one use?

Not that there is a drug for me out there, but if ever there were one, ecstasy would not be it.

The combination of “meth” and ecstasy is also known to have harsh effects on the brain.

At the risk of trivializing the situation, aren’t teenagers stupid enough these days? Why do they feel the need to further that with the use of Extreme ‘X’?

CNN.com states that the chemicals for the drugs are being smuggled into Canada by Asian-organized-crime groups and the pills are being smuggled into the United States. I guess the U.S. government can’t catch everything?

It’s safe to say that the U.S. is slowly but surely cultivating a drug culture and it’s dangerous in terms of the human race’s survival.

What’s more is that many of the dealers aren’t informing their “customers” of the change.

They’re trying to pass this Extreme ‘X’ off as regular ecstasy. If ecstasy were my drug of choice (God, help me) I would hope that my dealer would be trustworthy enough to let me know that what I was purchasing isn’t pure.

That previous sentence just proves how much of a rookie I am because using “trustworthy” and “drug dealer” in the same sentence is truly mind boggling, but I digress.

According to Detnews.com, “Extreme ‘X’s” comeback has much to do with the repackaging that is trying to glamorize it.

I can’t quite come to terms with the glamorous side of voluntarily putting holes in ones brain as if to say, “Brain damage is the new black.”

In terms of drugs, I’ve been known to be something of a goody-two-shoes. I’d rather stick to my light alcohol drinking while all the “cool kids” are knowingly giving themselves irreversible brain damage with this deadly mix.

Oneika Richardson can be reached at [email protected].