It goes by many nicknames and often carries a ‘not for human consumption’ on the label:
- K2
- Spice
- Chronic spice
- Spice Gold
Aroma- Mr. Smiley
- Spice silver
- K3
- K3 legal
- Genie
- Sence
- Earth impact
- Space truckin
- Moon rocks
- Mr. Nice Guy
- Zohai
- Eclipse
- Black Mamba
- Red X Dawn
- Blaze
- Dream
Synthetic pot uses a botanical blend as its base: “bay bean, blue lotus, lion’s tail, lousewort, Indian warrior, dwarf skullcap, maconhabrava, pink lotus, marshmallow, red clover, rose, Siberian Motherwort, vanilla, and honey.” These plant ingredients aren’t bad in and of themselves. The problem comes in when the botanicals are sprayed with an active compound like JWH-018, which is what makes the synthetic drug toxic. The name JWH-018 comes from the scientist John W. Huffman, who synthesized versions of TCH to study its effects in the lab. One of the reasons that synthetic pot can produce a greater affect is that its ability to bond the brain’s cannabis receptor (CB1) is five times greater than what THC is capable of. This means a bigger bang for the buck – and greater risk of serious, long-lasting neurological problems [source].
Side Effects Associated with Synthetic Cannabis Use
Aggressiveness- Paranoia
- Anxiety
- Agitation
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Seizures
- Syncope
- Acute renal failure
- High blood pressure
- Heavy sweating
- Heart palpitations
- Irritability
- Muscle rigidity
- Convulsions
What makes synthetic cannabis so appealing in the first place?
Bans and Warnings for Synthetic Cannabis Use
…synthetic cannabinoids have become prevalent drugs of abuse, especially among teens and young adults. Calls to New York State Poison Control centers relating to the consumption of synthetic cannabinoids have increased dramatically, with a total of 105 reported incidents of exposure to these substances having been reported since 2011, compared to four reported instances in 2009 and 2010.
[photo by miss.libertine on flickr]
Resources:
- Cannabis users find synthetic pot more harmful than natural weed | GuardianUK
- Driver in deadly crash was smoking synthetic pot | NBC10
- State of New York: Department of Health | Source
- Synthetic cannabis | Wikipedia
- Synthetic marijuana on the rise, sending kids to ER | Forbes
- Synthetic marijuana usage alarms American pediatricians | MNT
- Synthetic marijuana: What it is and why it should be banned | Forbes
- What is synthetic pot, and why’s it causing heart attacks in teenagers? | Discover