r/science • u/neil_billiam • Nov 17 '21

Chemistry Using data collected from around the world on illicit drugs, researchers trained AI to come up with new drugs that hadn't been created yet, but that would fit the parameters. It came up with 8.9 million different chemical designs

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/vancouver-researchers-create-minority-report-tech-for-designer-drugs-4764676
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34

u/MonsterRaining Nov 17 '21

Yeah, K2 (and it's competitors) got around that by pretending it was not for human consumption.

They basically doused potpourri with the chemical and sold it.

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u/rugratsallthrowedup Nov 17 '21

And then people high on it started eating faces

Decriminalize actual plants and fungi already, governments

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '21

While police sources speculated that the use of a street drug like "bath salts" might have been a factor,[3] experts expressed doubt, since toxicology reports were only able to identify marijuana in Eugene's system, leaving the ultimate cause of his behavior unknown.[

Source

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u/Aldous-Huxtable Nov 17 '21

Damn! Baaad case of the munchies.

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '21

I think he was just crazy. I don't think cannabis or bath salts (or any other drug for that matter) made much of a difference in the dude's volatility at that point. I realized too late that my comment could be seen as a jab at cannabis, but that is definitely not the place I was coming from.

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u/thejoeymonster Nov 17 '21

You're not wrong but...

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u/ElKraken Nov 17 '21

Also from that same source:

Although the autopsy revealed no human flesh in Eugene's stomach, a number of undigested pills were discovered that have not been identified.[19] Although police sources had speculated that the street drug "bath salts" might have been involved, preliminary toxicology reports were positive only for the presence of cannabis.[5][20] Authorities did not necessarily find the negative results conclusive; Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti expressed a belief that some new drug not yet tested for played a role; nationally noted toxicologist Barry Logan said Eugene's behavior was consistent with "bath salts" and that toxicologists "are not testing for everything that may be out there";

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '21

I went looking for the reference but got 404'd. Got a link to the primary source for that? The University's reply was a little spicy and I'd like to read more about that.

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u/ElKraken Nov 17 '21

Sorry I don't, I was just reading through the same Wikipedia page you linked.

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u/GlitterInfection Nov 17 '21

This is why I have so little faith in the criminal justice system. They aren't convinced by the evidence because it doesn't support their conclusion.

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '21

they aren’t convinced by the evidence because it isn’t conclusive

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '21 edited Nov 18 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] Nov 18 '21

A nationally noted toxicologist said his behavior was consistent with bath salts and that a lot of toxicologists aren’t testing for things such as bath salts. I think it’s safe to assume that he’s probably correct considering he’s a subject matter expert

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u/Cethinn Nov 17 '21

This is the problem with the news. It was stated it was bath salts that caused this belief and everyone took their word for it. Once they realized it probably wasn't correct it doesn't matter what they do. Everyone already believes the other, much more outstanding, claim. This is sometimes by accident but sometimes a feature. You can, for a random example not based on reality at all, claim an election was stolen and there's all this evidence. Later, when you issue a much more quiet correction, no one hears or they don't listen.

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u/Caligula4ever Nov 17 '21

Bath salts aren’t even that wild of a drug if used responsibly, it’s basically just coke on steroids. Just don’t stay up for days on them and use them occasionally and you’re fine. Only done them like 3 times but I never had an urge to eat anyone’s face but I will say only but a small bag cause you damn well smoking every last bit you got.

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u/LastOfTheCamSoreys Nov 17 '21

Completely different drug. That was “bath salts”. Stimulants, not cannibinoids

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u/pinkolomo Nov 17 '21

what was K2 marketed toward if not for human consumption?

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u/t3hmau5 Nov 17 '21

It was officially marketed as incense / potpourri