Last updated : November 11, 2024
Synthetic marijuana has many aliases, and with some of those alternate names including Spice, K-2, Moon Rocks, Yucatan Fire, Skunk and No More Mr. Nice Guy, it’s easy to see why people view these substances as fun and safe alternatives to marijuana.
But as the National Institute on Drug Abuse points out, nothing could be further from the truth. NIDA reports that despite the cuteness implied in the product names, those who use them may suffer side effects that range from nausea and vomiting to hallucinations and heart attacks. Some users have reported symptoms of addiction and withdrawal; others have even died after using synthetic cannabis.
NIDA describes these faux-pot products as anything but natural, because while they do contain dried plant matter, it’s the chemical ingredients that bring on the drug’s psychoactive effects. These products carry warnings stating they are not intended for human consumption, but that hasn’t stopped the exponential growth in the number of people seeking it out. As of March 31, 2015, The American Association of Poison Control Centers handled 892 reports of exposure to synthetic pot. In all of 2014, the AAPCC received 3,680 reports of exposure (up from the 2,668 cases logged for 2013).
Rendering these statistics more sobering are the numerous damaging and potentially life-threatening side effects that can come with using these substances. According to NIDA, users of K-2, Spice and the like are exposing cell receptors in the brain to the cannabinoids used in these synthetic marijuanas, which provide the high. The active ingredients in synthetic pot achieve a much stronger bond with these receptors than what is the case with THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. This stronger bond can cause unpredictable and undesirable effects. And because the exact ingredients of the synthetic marijuana products are largely a mystery, each variety can cause widely varying effects.
At Mount Regis Center, a substance abuse treatment center based in Virginia, patients have reported a host of behavior, physical, cognitive and psychosocial symptoms associated with their use of synthetic marijuana, including:
- Extreme and sudden bursts of hyperactivity, lethargy, anger or aggression
- Chest pains, panic attacks, heart palpitations, muscle spasms, nausea, seizures, and unstable blood pressure
- Disorientation, paranoia, hallucinations, depersonalization and altered perceptions
- Severe anxiety, episodes of depression, elevated mood and psychosis
That’s not counting the mental health problems commonly associated with habitual synthetic marijuana use, such as bipolar and depressive disorders and schizophrenia, to name a few. Those who want to quit after prolonged use may have a long, hard road ahead of them, especially if they have become physically and psychologically dependent. Withdrawal symptoms can last as long as three days, and may consist of hot and cold flashes, high anxiety, diarrhea, cravings, lethargy and extreme angry outbursts.
All of those experiences sound quite unpleasant, but ending one’s dependence on synthetic marijuana is a challenge worth overcoming when you consider what could happen in the event of an overdose. A synthetic marijuana overdose is a medical emergency, and it’s a serious one. Along with the risk of stroke, seizures or a heart attack, those who overdose also face the possibility of slipping into a coma. In the worst case scenarios, getting high on synthetic dope cost users their lives.
