Last updated : November 11, 2024
Atlanta has a growing drug problem on its hands, and it is sending record numbers of unsuspecting people to hospital emergency rooms. The culprit is a synthetic drug known as Spice, or K2.
Amazingly, Spice is easy to obtain at convenience stores, smoke shops and other places that cater to an underground market for items used to get people high.
Despite a statewide crackdown aimed at eventually banning synthetic marijuana, also known as weed or pot, sales of the substance are skyrocketing.
Furthermore, legislation backed by Governor Sonny Perdue to ban the existing synthetic formulas does little to stop new mixtures from development and distribution. New concoctions pop up overnight that are yet unregulated. According to Special Agent of Homeland Security, Brock Nicholson, sales of fabricated drugs such as Spice and K2 are a burgeoning national epidemic. Additionally, Agent Nicholson states that the seriousness of this problem is prompting a variety of law enforcement groups across the U.S. to take all necessary actions to stop the use of these deadly drugs.
Horrifying Symptoms
Although the symptoms vary between users, most people experience marijuana-like effects that are more intense. Moreover, manufactured pot is easier to become addicted to than the its all-natural cousin, Marijuana. First-time users report the feeling of an inability to breathe, along with a rapidly pounding heart. Some users claim to have psychedelic experiences when ingesting Spice. Not surprisingly, people begin to build up a tolerance to synthetic marijuana and must then smoke larger amounts to receive the desired high.
Reports of side effects run the gamut from seizures to psychosis and include dangerously high blood pressure, hallucinations, nausea and severe paranoia. Spice attacks the cardiovascular and the central nervous system and induces symptoms that are opposite from the relatively more enjoyable effects of pot. Most users are looking for a mellow experience, but they are surprised to find themselves in need of emergency room treatment.
Synthetic Marijuana Ingredients
Hundreds of recipes combine chemicals to create this designer form of marijuana, which takes a plant material base and then laces it with harmful chemicals. One ounce has a street value of between $20 and $100, but it depends on many factors. While little data about the actual chemical makeup of Spice exists, experts do know that manufactured cannabinoids are full agonists while natural THC, the active ingredient found in marijuana, is a partial agonist. Furthermore, the manufactured cannabinoids in herbal incense items do not stem from the hemp plant. Instead, drug laboratories synthesize compounds to interact with the endogenous cannabinoid receptors in the human brain to create psychoactive effects.
History of Synthetic Cannabinoids
Herbal products marketed as an alternative to marijuana began popping up in the United States in 2008, although they really started in Europe four years earlier. Vendors tried to market fabricated marijuana as a safe and legal option to pot. Indeed, Spice obtained a European trademark and it was promoted as both incense and as an herbal creation. It was said to produce a natural high for those who smoked it. However, researchers soon discovered that these purported herbal mixtures contained synthetic ingredients. In Austria, authorities isolated a fabricated cannabinoid called JWH-018, which was found in an herbal incense item. Only one year later, five more manufactured cannabinoids were detected in herbal products marketed around the globe.
Although many hapless recreational drug users believe that synthetic pot is non-toxic and will provide them with a mind-altering effect like the one given from marijuana, serious cases of toxicities are becoming frequent in hospital emergency rooms. In addition, long-term side effects are less than fully understood at this time. Sadly, the largest user group of synthetic cannabis is high school students and young adults. However, new national regulations are on the horizon to stem this widespread drug abuse.
