Synthetic cannabis, also called spice, synthetic marijuana, fake pot, or K2, is a popular designer drug. While often advertised as a legal variant of marijuana, synthetic cannabis has very little in common with real cannabis. Tested synthetic cannabis contains a different chemical composition from marijuana, causing a significantly more powerful high and vastly more potent and negative side effects than real marijuana. Synthetic cannabis manufacturers often alter the drug's chemical composition to evade laws designed to ban designer drugs.
Origins
Professor John W. Huffman created synthetic cannabis in the late 1990s. Huffman wanted to research claims that marijuana had a variety of medicinal uses. However, federal law made this research impossible. To circumvent this, researchers in Huffman's laboratory began to synthesize molecules that bind to the same receptor as THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana, theoretically simulating marijuana's effects on the brain. Because the chemicals found in the lab were new and unregulated by federal law, experimenting with these chemicals was perfectly legal.
Hoffman's lab quickly created hundreds of varieties of synthetic cannabis. Some variants were beneficial to humans. They even lacked the psychoactive effects normally associated with THC. Other variants produced psychoactive effects hundreds of times more powerful than marijuana. While none of these were intended for human consumption, hundreds were somehow leaked to the public.
Companies in the United Kingdom and Asia quickly realized the commercial potential of the new drug. They sprayed the chemicals over nonreactive plant materials for a marijuana-like appearance and then marketed the synthetics as a legal version of marijuana. The bags were often labeled "not for human consumption," or as incense or potpourri. Because of their labels, the drugs were legal to sell in gas stations and other specialty stores. Whenever a specific chemical formula was outlawed, manufacturers slightly changed the synthetic drug sprayed on the plant materials to keep the drug technically legal.
Effects
Most varieties of synthetic cannabis have little in common with real marijuana. While synthetic cannabis looks like natural marijuana, and both THC and synthetic chemicals bind to the CB1 and CB2 receptors in the brain, they produce very different effects. THC is a partial agonist of the CB1 and CB2 receptors, meaning THC molecules partially bind to those receptors. Most varieties of synthetic cannabis are full agonists, meaning they bind to CB1 and CB2 receptors at a much greater rate.
Studies have shown that synthetic cannabis highs can cause increased heart rate, heart palpations, profuse sweating, hallucinations, paranoia, aggressive behavior, vomiting, seizures, comas, impaired memory, confusion, disorientation, anxiety, and psychosis. Researchers even coined the term spiceophrenia in reference to spice, or synthetic cannabis, users' schizophrenia-like symptoms.
Other side effects vary with the specific chemicals imbibed by the user and the size of the dose ingested. However, due to its questionably legal status and the unreliable manufacturing process used to make it, variables such as these cannot be reliably controlled by the average user. Spraying the chemicals onto plant material creates uneven chemical distribution, leading to areas with unpredictably high drug concentration. Additionally, as more synthetic cannabinoids are made illegal, the chemicals used quickly change. Two identical-looking bags from the same manufacturer may contain completely different chemicals.
Because it is impossible to regulate how much synthetic cannabis is ingested at one time, accidental overdose is possible. Overdoses often require immediate medical attention. An overdosing user may suddenly collapse, drop into a comatose state, stop breathing, or suffer from strokes or heart attacks. Synthetic cannabis overdoses have been responsible for cases of permanent brain damage and premature death.
Unlike real marijuana, synthetic cannabis is highly addictive. Habitual users attempting to quit may experience severe withdrawal symptoms lasting several days, with more mild symptoms persisting for months. Symptoms of withdrawal episodes from synthetic cannabis include anxiety, depression, nightmares, psychotic episodes, restlessness, suicidal thoughts, loss of appetite, paranoia, insomnia, hallucinations, vomiting, diarrhea, hot and cold flashes, intense cravings for more of the drug, irritability, seizures, and heart attacks.
Popularity
According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc., 12 percent of high school students reported using synthetic cannabis, compared to 57 percent for alcohol and 39 percent for traditional marijuana. Additionally, synthetics have become extremely popular with people on probation and those who routinely get drug tested for work. Because the chemical formulas used in the production of synthetic cannabis change regularly, effective tests for synthetic cannabis are difficult and costly to produce. Most drugs tests only test for natural marijuana and more common drugs.
Additionally, experts believe that easy access to synthetic cannabis has drastically increased the drug's popularity. Though some varieties of synthetic cannabis have been successfully outlawed, newer variants are usually unregulated by state and federal laws. For this reason, newer variants can legally be sold to minors in places such as convenience stores, gas stations, and drug paraphernalia shops.
Bibliography
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"What is Spice? The Facts on Synthetic Weed." Spice Addiction Support. SpiceAddictionSupport.org. Web. 27 Mar. 2015. http://spiceaddictionsupport.org/what-is-spice/
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