Last updated : November 11, 2024
Re-branding is nothing new in the business world; the practice simply gives a fresh identity to an old product. But when it comes to designer drugs like Spice, K-2 and the latest product on the scene called Flakka, re-branding is the way the manufacturers get around laws aimed at banning these substances.
That is because these drugs can bring serious consequences that could land a user in the emergency room, or in the worst case scenarios, in the morgue.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the term “Spice” covers a wide range of combinations that are supposed to cause effects that are similar to those of marijuana. These herbal mixtures are billed as legal and natural substitutes for cannabis, but don’t be fooled – these substances also contain chemical additives that cause the mind-altering effects for the users.
These substances were easily obtained at the corner gas station or at a head shop for several years, but the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) moved to ban the five chemicals most commonly found in these drugs as Schedule I controlled substances. The ban made it illegal to buy, sell or possess these substances.
The problem is that the manufacturers of Spice, K-2, Flakka and the like have stayed one step ahead of the efforts to keep these designer drugs out of the hands of users by constantly changing the chemicals used to produce them.
In response, the DEA is trying to keep up, continuously watching the market, tracking new versions of old brands and updating the list of cannabinoids to be banned, but it’s proven to be a daunting task.
And because they are sold under fun-sounding names like Spice, K-2, Skunk, Yucatan Fire and Moon Rocks, it’s easy to see why these drugs are becoming quite popular among the younger population.
NIDA reports that while marijuana was the top drug of choice for high school seniors in 2012, designer drugs were the second-most used among this age group. Further, NIDA reported the youths tend to reach for these kinds of substances because they are easy to obtain, and because they believe the misconception that drugs like Spice are natural and harmless. In addition, NIDA asserts youths likely choose to use designer drugs because the active chemicals are hard to detect in a drug test.
Brooke Ehlers is no stranger to the dangers of designer drugs. Ehlers , a chemist, has worked at the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab in Dayton, Ohio for 16 years, and she said drug cases involving young people are becoming more and more common. Ehlers said she finds this trend especially disturbing because she is a mother herself, and she worries that her children may one day encounter these potentially deadly substances, too. The big concern, Ehlers said, is that designer drugs can sometimes bring on effects that more closely mimic methamphetamine or heroin rather than cannabis.
These drugs have wreaked havoc across the country in the last three weeks, with hundreds of people flooding emergency rooms around the nation after using various brands of synthetic marijuana. During just one week in April, New York City hospitals logged more than 120 emergency cases that were linked to designer drug use. Some of those users arrived with symptoms like elevated blood pressure seizures and hallucinations; others have died.
