The Washington Post reports on a new type of drug that is threatening the health and sanity of young people everywhere. It's made from a chemical called MP3. Oh wait, it's an MP3. Yes that's right, apparently teens (well, two or three at least) are getting high on sounds:
On I-Doser, the digital drugs -- purchased by downloading free software and clicking on individual tracks -- are represented through stock art. "Acid" is a blurred face; "Heroin" is a Fiona Apple look-alike chewing on her own hair. For $3.95 users can download "Astral," which claims to aid in out-of-body experiences; for $3 they can buy "Extend," which supposedly prolongs sexual encounters....The effects are made possible, purportedly, through "binaural beats," where a tone of one frequency is played into the right ear and a slightly different frequency is played into the left. Believers say these beats synchronize brain waves, replicating the experience of being high on anything from alcohol to true love.
There is, of course, nothing remotely new about this and the sciencey stuff is bunk. It's effectively a rather clever rebranding of chill-out tapes - the kind of thing you might hear whilst having a massage - with dark names. Teens will fall for anything, bless 'em.
When I first read about i-dosing I thought it was a way of inducing naps. Now that would be worth getting excited about.
It's the poor man's pot.
Posted by: d | August 03, 2010 at 03:22 PM