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Legal highs? What you don't know about synthetic drugs
It’s cheap, it’s (strictly speaking) legal, it’s easy to obtain: “What a great alternative to that traditional high!” the average drug user might think. The efficiency of concoctions of over-the-counter drugs would appear to totally trump the sacrifices required to get hold of traditional drugs, be it money, legality, or the time needed to find them. However, there are some life-threatening consequences that come with the easy accessibility of synthetic drugs.
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The most readily available synthetic drug these days has a bunch of variations. It is known as “spice,” “fake weed,” “K2,” “synthetic weed,” “synths,” “legal pot,” “herbal incense,” “mamba,” “black mamba,” or “potpourri.” (Shutterstock/*)
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t’s cheap, it’s (strictly speaking) legal, it’s easy to obtain: “What a great alternative to that traditional high!” the average drug user might think.
The efficiency of concoctions of over-the-counter drugs would appear to totally trump the sacrifices required to get hold of traditional drugs, be it money, legality, or the time needed to find them. However, there are some life-threatening consequences that come with the easy accessibility of synthetic drugs.
The most readily available synthetic drug these days has a bunch of variations. It is known as “spice,” “fake weed,” “K2,” “synthetic weed,” “synths,” “legal pot,” “herbal incense,” “mamba,” “black mamba,” or “potpourri.” Essentially, it is a mixture of synthetic cannabinoids (such as JWH-018, JWH-073, JWH-200, AM-2201, UR-144, XLR-11, AKB4, cannabicyclohexanol and AB-CHMINACA, AB-PINACA or AB-FUBINACA), which are lab-made chemical alterations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) -- the active ingredient in natural marijuana -- designed to mimic its effects on your brain’s cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2). There are over 700 forms of synthetic cannabinoids. This mixture is sprayed onto harmless herbs like Canavalia maritima, Leonotis leonurus or Zornia latifolia to give the appearance of marijuana.
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Spice comes in little packets of a couple of grams and is usually sold freely in tobacco shops, or often sold as marijuana itself. The little packets are usually labelled “not fit for human consumption”, as it is usually sold under the false pretense of incense or potpourri. The potential danger lies in inexperienced marijuana users smoking synths under the impression that it is natural marijuana, and the fact that fake pot comes with a lot of unknowns. Given a lack of transparency on the potency or concentration of the spray, the thickness of the spray and the composition of the mixture of synthetic cannabinoids, consuming mamba is highly unpredictable.
It is pretty evident that spice is very different from natural marijuana. For one, upon close inspection, the two look different. Natural marijuana usually comes on a bud or flower, whereas K2 looks like ground-up herbs. They taste different and smell different. Most importantly, though, K2 is highly addictive, which is what most users aren’t aware of when they begin using it. Assuming that spice is just like natural marijuana and much cheaper and more readily available, it seems like a great idea, but the side effects of black mamba are a great deal more terrifying. In fact, synthetic cannabinoids can be up to a hundred times stronger than THC.
“The consequences are way too deep for the high,” a man residing in Harlem, New York City, told GlobalGrindTV. “Side effect number one of people who do K2 is a cough. They start coughing and coughing, and the next thing you know they’re gonna start spitting, you know, you look at a guy who smokes K2 and he’s always like erghum, and adjusting his jaw. It’s because of the K2.” Alongside that, spice smokers can expect high blood pressure, blurred vision, heart attacks, vomiting, seizures, hallucinations and severe anxiety and paranoia.
In an interview with VICE, a man named Titch, a member of one of Manchester’s few charities that looks after youth seeking accommodation, spoke about his experience with the drug. “[I feel] like I want to kill someone. I don’t want it,” he said, jittering while rolling a spliff. “But I’m in pain. I would rather blaze my bud [natural marijuana]. Look at me now, yeah, right, I’m rattling, right. My head’s all over. I can’t think straight. Now, if this was bud – don’t get me wrong, I’d still be stressed, but I’m not like this. I’m not rattling.”
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It has similar worsening side effects to crack cocaine, and the drug is so potent that there have been cases of heroin users switching to spice. Just a few weeks of regular use could create an addiction to spice. This is why it’s considered to be one of the world’s worst drugs. Withdrawal symptoms include extreme vomiting and diarrhea, inability to eat or drink, inability to focus, fatigue, extreme insomnia, extreme dehydration, heart palpitations and renal failure, and there have even been a few cases of death.
The catch with street drugs is that there are always consequences and side effects that come at a much higher cost than the benefit of the ease at which they are obtained. This is the reason why the unpredictability of using synthetic drugs such as this is comparable to playing Russian roulette – it’s a dangerous game.
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Jaanam Jaswani is a 17 year-old blogger and occasional poet. Impulsive and controversial, she has an insatiable curiosity when it comes to literature, performance arts, philosophy, and food. She can be found on biryanibabe.blogspot.co.id, @exist_sensual on Instagram, or @inbreadwecruston Twitter.
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