Wall Street Journal -- Europe is grappling with a flood of powerful and sometimes lethal new narcotics that are often legal when they first appear because authorities have never seen or banned them before.
With catchy nicknames like Meow Meow, Spice and NRG-1, the drugs are often sold online as "legal highs." They typically come in powder form and can be snorted, licked or packed into tablets and create highs that mimic drugs ranging from cocaine to ecstasy, which some narcotics experts say has become less available amid a world-wide effort to blunt production. The drugs have been blamed for the deaths of two young people in the U.K. and Sweden, and authorities say they may have contributed to as many as 30 deaths in the U.K. in recent years. With some drugs selling for about €15,000 ($19,000) a kilogram, producers and dealers stand to profit. More...