A 17-year-old healthy male died after ingesting three sublingual tablets of the hallucinogen 25b-NBOMe. The cause of death was cardiac arrest due to cardiac arrhythmia. Postmortem heart blood contained 3.14 ng/mL of 25b-NBOMe. The authors conclude that such deaths may result from an idiosyncratic reaction or from unknown contaminants in designer drugs. This case is among the few documented deaths from the 25b variant and is the first to correlate with Google trends data.
In a cross-sectional study of online drug forums and social media, right-handed males who were heterosexual or bisexual dominated the population of new psychoactive substance (NPS) users. Among psychedelic users, the term "psychedelic" was preferred by 73%, followed by "entheogen" (12%) and "hallucinogen" (11%). Right-handed users accounted for 53% of those using the term "psychedelic" and 8% each for "entheogen" and "hallucinogen." The Middle East contributes minimally to the global NPS phenomenon, and further studies are needed in diverse populations.
NBOMe compounds, known as 'N-Bomb' or 'Smiles', are a potent group of phenethylamine derivatives used for their powerful hallucinogenic effects. An analysis of surface web data, including published literature, grey literature, drug forums, and Google Trends, reviewed the three most popular variants: 25b-, 25c-, and 25i-NBOMe. 25i-NBOMe is the most potent and popular, 25b-NBOMe the least, with 25c-NBOMe in between. Popularity has risen since 2011-2012, highest in the United States and United Kingdom, with data lacking from developing nations. Reported intoxication and fatality cases statistically correlate with public interest trends, suggesting such data could serve as an early warning system.