'Catnip Cocktail': New Fad Drug Sparking Concerns Among Parents

LONG ISLAND, NY — Catnip Cocktail, a liquid used to sedate pets and called "the ultimate mood enhancer for your cats and dogs" is reportedly being abused by individuals who drink the substance — and experts say it highlights the dire need for parents to educate their kids about the dangers of "fad" drugs.

Concerns were raised after it was reported that people were drinking the liquid. However, cases are tough to prosecute due to a legal loophole, a New Jersey police chief said.

Back in Nov. 2018, the Fairfield Police Department issued an advisory about Catnip Cocktail, a liquid that is supposed to be strictly used to sedate cats and not to be consumed by humans. According to the FPD, there have been two recent cases – one of which happened on Nov. 1 – involving the misuse of the drug.

In both instances, the people were "found to be acting extremely irrational and incoherent" after consuming it, police said. Both required immediate medical attention, police said.

"Because this product is not yet listed as a controlled dangerous substance, the prosecutor's office has not been able to authorize criminal charges for either its possession or use," FPD Chief Anthony Manna said.

"We are making the public aware of the increased misuse of this extremely dangerous product to hopefully curtail others from doing it," Manna continued. "We are going to work diligently with county, state and federal legislators and law enforcement officials to have this product listed as a controlled dangerous substance in order to take away the loophole that currently exists in the law preventing criminal charges."

The company's website bills the substance as an "anxiety relief supplement for cats and dogs." It clearly states that the product is "NOT approved for human consumption."

According to the website:

"If this product is ingested by humans, accidentally, or otherwise, the manufacturer assumes no responsibility nor liability for any harm which may occur as a result from that use."

According to Fairfield Police, one example of why the substance should be listed as a CDS took place in Nov., when an officer pulled over a driver who was allegedly operating his vehicle in "an erratic manner."

The man appeared "extremely confused" and was "totally unaware of his surroundings and unable to answer simple questions," authorities said.

After the officer unsuccessfully tried to administer a field sobriety test to the man, he became suspicious that the motorist was "under the influence of something," police said. The officer arrested the man, later finding eight bottles of Catnip Cocktail in his car, authorities said.

At headquarters the driver allegedly began yelling obscenities and ululating with high-pitched screams, police said. His behavior was so "bizarre" that local authorities transported him by ambulance to a nearby hospital, police said.

Authorities eventually charged him with driving under the influence, refusing to submit to a breath test and driving under the influence in a school zone, police said.

And the Catnip Cocktail concerns resurfaced in early March, police said: A post in northjersey.com said earlier in March, the manager of a health and nutrition store in Fairfield, NY was arrested after officers seized 61 bottles of "Catnip Cocktail" from the store, police said. According to police, the drug was hidden, with no ads notifying the public that the store carried the product.

According to a post in Rolling Stone, although the product is labeled “not for human consumption,” it is primarily sold at smoke shops, not actual pet stores. . . .That’s likely because it contains 1-4 BDO, or 1-4 butanediol, which is most often used in commercial cleaning products like fish tank cleaners," Rolling Stone said.

Also, according to Rolling Stone post, the National Institute on Drug Abuse said 1-4 BDO converts to the “date rape drug” GHB upon ingestion, which means it produces similar effects to GHB, such as euphoria and a sense of relaxation. But Rolling Stone said, when misused “it can result in serious consequences,” such as “reduced inhibition and sedation, vomiting, incontinence, agitation, convulsions, respiratory depression, coma and death,” according to Linda Richter, Ph.D, director of Policy Research and Analysis at the Center on Addiction, who referred to a 2014 report by the World Health Organization.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said in July, 2018, police were called to a strip mall in Fairfield, N.J. “to investigate an individual who was dancing, yelling and generally acting abnormally in front of a hair salon,” the Fairfield Police Department said. The man reportedly had "severe mood swings, going from being extremely friendly to acting confused and angry," the post said. Officers found six bottles of Catnip Cocktail in his possession, the post said.

A request for comment sent via the Catnip Cocktail website was not initially returned. However, the site read: "Due to recent abuses of our product in New Jersey, we have fully cancelled shipments to that state."

Long Island prevention advocates, meanwhile, say no cases of known Catnip Cocktail use by substance abusers have been reported.

However, many agreed that news of the new "fad drug" highlighted the need to educate kids and keep them safe.

Jeffrey Reynolds, president and chief executive officer of the Family and Children's Association in Mineola, said, of the Catnip Cocktail reports: "This is a new one. . . Having said that, we've seen a steady stream of news reports about young people — and sometimes adults — using household products to get high. At this point, the burning question centers on why. What are we trying to escape from? While we willing to go to so such great lengths — even risking our health and safety — to get high? Is it anxiety, depression, boredom — or something else? Figuring out the answers to some of these questions will allow us to better address the use of all substances and quite frankly, might just help us avoid the next drug epidemic."

Kym Laube, executive director of HUGS, Inc. in Westhampton Beach, said while she has not heard of any local cases involving Catnip Cocktail: "I get calls like this all time, parents concerned about new trends. What I feel strongly about is there is always going to be a new trend, a new drug out there. From the cinnamon challenge to the choking game to the reported Catnip Cocktail — we absolutely know that social media has a big presence and a big impact on young people. And so we want to always have good information out there to counteract that."

Laube has long expressed her concerns about parents and the community who are "hyper-worried about a new fad drug, a new trend," so much so that they "minimize the risks associated with the drugs young people use most commonly and are dying from — especially alcohol." Laube said she is very concerned about vaping, e-cigarettes, and marijuana.

When new potentially dangerous trends emerge, Laube said: "It is very important for people to get clear, accurate information and to have honest conversations with their young people about it."

Laube, who spoke recently at a public hearing about the proposed legalization of adult use recreational marijuana, said the conversation on the issue "minimizes the risk people have associated with it."

Parents, Laube said, need to educate themselves about the science behind addiction. "This isn't a discussion about what's popular or not popular, good or bad, it's simply a conversation about health. Developing young brains are no place for any outside substance," she said, adding that the average brain has not even fully developed until the age of 25 and the "risks posed by outside substances including marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco should not be minimized."

Laube reminded that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that the number of deaths from alcohol, suicide and drugs had reached an all-time high. To that end, she said, parents need to be vigilant, both to fad drugs and to the threats posed by alcohol, marijuana, heroin and other life-threatening substances. "Talk often and regularly," she said. "Parents should get the most information they can."

At home, she said "don't ever allow access to alcohol or other drugs. Don't make it easy for kids to get their hands on it — and create clear no-use health policies in your family."

Longtime news anchor Drew Scott, who lost his 22-year old granddaughter Hallie Rae to opioid addiction and has served as co-chair of the Southampton Town Opioid Addiction Task Force, said kids should be aware of any new drug or fad they're urged to try. “There is so much danger in buying or obtaining so-called drug cocktails from friends," he said. "They probably have no idea of the ingredients, that may include fentanyl or the even more potent killer carfentanil."

Social media, all agreed, can be dangerous when it comes to emerging fad drugs or challenges. For example, a frenzy was sparked recently by the Momo Challenge threat — the "Momo Challenge," which purported to send creepy and horrifying messages to tykes, reportedly urged them to perpetuate violent challenges, including stabbings, and to commit suicide. The threat has been deemed a viral hoax, according to a piece in The Atlantic, which said there were "zero corroborated reports of a child taking his or her own life after participating in this phony challenge."

Now, Momo seems to have been classified as another hoax, much like the eating Tide Pods challenge, the Blue Whale challenge that allegedly told kids to commit suicide, the eating cinnamon craze and the snorting condoms trend, according to the post.

The trends, said the Atlantic, are "part of a moral panic, fueled by parents' fears in wanting to know what their kids are up to;" the piece quoted Benjamin Radford, a folklorist and research fellow at the Committee for Skeptic Inquiry, in the Rolling Stone.

Despite the "hoax" designation, some mental health experts say that any internet threat or focus on a fad drug can prove devastating to a young person who might be vulnerable.

Roberta Temes, Ph.D., a psychotherapist and author based in New Jersey, responded to a question about internet threats to kids: "Parent and media response could go a long way in extinguishing the effects," she told Patch. "When anything ridiculously absurd is treated as if it is stupid and harmless it loses its value. When that same ridiculously absurd thing is responded to as if it is a serious threat, a vulnerable child may feel that thing has power over her."

As for children who already may be isolated, she said: "Vulnerable kids need more than protection. They need specific lessons in how to protect themselves and ignore nonsensical directions."

Family communication is key — and parents should strive to assist their kids in guiding others who need help, Temes said.