The 5 Greatest Drugs Banned in 2010

What is it?
Basically known as marijuana without the "marijuana" attached to the name, K2 is essentially incense and potpourri with "added" chemicals to enhance the scent.

What does it do?
It gets you high. And it was completely legal until recently. Consumed easily through things like a bong or a piece or a joint, K2 became very popular with teenagers. So popular they probably became careless enough to let the parents notice.

Why did it get banned?
As soon as more and more K2 users got admitted into hospitals for some nasty side effects (probably from over-exposing themselves to K2), lawmakers decided that the stuff in K2 wasn't being regulated enough. K2 also happened to be banned in Europe (a common theme on this list), which convinced the law to ban it right after Thanksgiving of 2010, which is awesome. Why? Because this means that they were nice enough to let them eat Thanksgiving leftovers with the munchies which, if you've never done it, is like the food equivalent of sex on Ecstasy.

Click here to see both sides of the debate in this article.

What is it?
Darvocet was a popular painkiller used by 10 million Americans.

What does it do?
Kills pain. In a really addictive way, apparently. After it was banned, doctors told users to not stop using it, as they would experience severe withdrawals. So when it did get banned, users understandably felt confused and wondered what prescriptions should they take now.

Why did it get banned?
As with a lot of drugs, Darvocet sometimes created heart-related side effects. In this case, the heart-related side effects sometimes ended in death. The ban should have seemed inevitable since the U.K. banned it six years ago. However, that didn't stop the FDA from banning it and allegedly letting 1,000 to 2,000 people die of heart-related complications from taking the drug. Ooops.

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What is it?
An caffeinated alcoholic drink that was once sold in places like 7-11, the place for late night food and drink binges. Hence, the perfect college friend.

What does it do?
Four Loko is estimated to be the equivalent of one cup of coffee and five cans of beer. All in one can. And fueled with caffeine. It was known as "the blackout in a can."

Why did it get banned?
The FDA started to look into it after many students became hospitalized for alcohol-related incidents. The hospital admittances also became enough evidence for state liquor boards to ban the drink across the country. The doom of Four Loko was soon spelled out as people began having vigils in honor of the drink and bought them by the handful, overwhelming local 7-11's.

Facebook and YouTube tried to spread awareness about saving Four Loko but to no avail. The drink was pulled off the shelves.

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What is it?
Aside from "meph's" name being similar to "meth", this popular party drug also known as "meow meow" was sold throughout the U.K. and Europe over the Internet, posing as things like bath salts or plant food.

What does it do?
It caused ecstasy-like highs, although its users generally thought the highs were safe since it was legal. So many of them took extra doses and found out their bath salts took them on a not so calming ride. Police eventually caught on as "meph" related deaths spread.The drug and its effects soon caught the attention of politicians who put it on the express lane to ban it and make it illegal.

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What is it?
It was a weight loss drug and its users most likely believed it was a quick fix to get healthy again. Nope.

What does it do?
Well, it says it makes people lose weight. And nothing else. The makers of Meridia wanted to prove this to the public and so they created a trial to examine the heart-related effects of Meridia.

Why did it get banned?
The trial did end up doing some convincing. Only it was that European drug administrators became convinced Meridia exacerbated heart conditions and actually encouraged the heart to have a stroke or a heart attack. Thus, the drug got recalled. It took the U.S. a few months to pick up on Europe's example but in October they followed suit.

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