Synthetic Marijuana Addiction & Abuse

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Published on Dec 15th, 2016

Simply put,synthetic marijuana is a questionable (at best) concoction of man-made psychoactive chemicals sprayed on dried plant material. These psychoactive chemicals are meant to mimic the effects of THC, the active ingredient found in real marijuana. Often referred to as “fake weed”, synthetic marijuana is sold in $30-$50 foil packets and are easy enough to find in gas stations, smoke shops or convenience stores. Marketed as a “safe” alternative to marijuana which is a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, these things have successfully avoided regulation by simply being labeled “Not Safe for Human Consumption”. Synthetic marijuana is far from safe. They are actually more powerful than the real thing - with severe and unpredictable side effects that are dangerous and sometimes life threatening.

Screening Cut-Off and Detection Time

GC/MS Cut-off Approximate Detection Time Urine Drug Test 25 ng/ml up to 72 hours after use

DEA Drug Class

Synthetic marijuana is classified under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act which lists drugs, substances or chemicals that have a high potential for abuse with no current medical use. Examples of other drugs in this class are:

K2 Spice Drug Type

Synthetic marijuana is a stimulant. While natural marijuana is classified as a mild hallucinogen-depressant and depending on a person’s response to it, synthetic marijuana without question is an exceptionally powerful stimulant with serious and often severe side effects because of its largely unknown composition of dangerous and unstable chemicals.

Forms and Routes of Administration

Smoking – the herbal incense or potpourri version of synthetic marijuana is smoked by using a pipe or other devices. Many people also roll it into a joint but some sites advise against doing it this way, and instead recommend simply using an incense burner.
Vaping – for liquid Spice/K2, there are two main techniques of vaping - mouth-to-lung (MTL) and direct-lung-inhale (DLI).
MTL is much the same as smoking a cigarette, or sucking on a straw and letting the mouth fill with vapor. This technique makes use of tanks, preferably with high-ohm coils. The slow inhalation vaporizes the e-liquid slower, making the e-juice last longer.
DLI is much like taking a hit from a bong or shisha pipe. This technique draws the vapor straight down to the lungs and requires sub-ohm tanks.

K2 Spice Brand Names

100% HIGH Quality
3M
500gr
8-Ball
Ace of Spades
Aer Wave
Atomic Bomb
Aztec
Baby J
BAM
Bang
Barely Legal Express
BC's Finest
Be's Finest T.M.D.K.
Big Blue
Bizarro
Black Kush
Black Magic
Black Mamba
Black Widow
Blaze
Bloody Mary
Blue Berry
Blue Magic
Blueberry Blaze
BooM
BUDDHA Exclusive
Bugler
Burnin Man Hypnotic
California Dreams
California K2
Canja
Chill
Chronic Hypnotic
Clear Breeze
CLOUD 10
Cloud 9
Strength Blueberry
Cloud 9
Cobra King KUSH
Cobra
Comatose Candy
Captain Kava Dabs
Code Black
Cowboy Kush
Crazy Monkey
Crown
Daisy
Damiana
Dancing Monkey DANK
Dead Man Walking
Dr. Bones Piece of Shit-Bag
Dr. Express
Dr. Feel Good
Dragon
Dragon Eye
Dream On
Dreams
Dyno
Dynomite
D-ZL
Earth Blend
Earthquake
Express Aromatic
Extreme Herbal Incense
Extremely Legal XXX
F.U.B.A.R.
Funky Green Stuff
Funky Monkey
FUSION 3G
FUSION, 1G
G 6 Large Summit
G-13
Ganja
GENI a New Era
GI JOE
Glass Jar
Gods of Aroma
Gold Platinum
Golden Buddha GREEN EYE
Green Ghost Kush
Green Giant
Green KUSH
Green Window
Groove
GUCI Exotic
H2O 50
H2 Blonde
Hammer Head
Happy Shaman
Head Trip
Hookah Relax
Hysteria
iAroma
Inner Voyage
Insanity
Intensity Black
Jungle Juice
Jamaican Spirit
Janes Jungle Juice 5g PIN UP
Journey
Jungle K2 69
K2
K3
K4
Kanabliss
King Cobra
King John
Kings
Knocked Out
Kong
Krp2nite
Krunk Max
Kush
Legally BLIND
LIT (Lost in Trance)
Lucky Charm
Mad Hatter
Mad Monkey
Mango Skunk
Manic Organic
Marley Spice
Maya
Mayan
Mean Pit Bull XXX
Mile High
MOJO spice
Moon Rocks
Mr. and Mrs. Marley
Mr. Happy
Mr. Marley KUSH
Mr. Miyagi
Mr. Nice Guy
Mystery
MYSTIC
MYSTIQUE
NICE DREAMS
Nightmare
Ober Spice
OMEGA
On Point No BS Herbal Incense
One Love
Orange KUSH
OZ Original Premium 1GM
Passion Sense
Peach Bomb
Pin-Up
Planet Kratom
Pleasure
Poppin Cherry
Posh
Premium Herbal
Primo
Puff
Pulse
Pure Fyre
Purple Diesel
Purple Haze
Raptor 50
Rasta Spice
Red Dawn Spark 80
Red Dragon
Red Eye made by SPARK
Red Magic
RedXDawn
Rewind
Rising Sun 1X
Roach
Serenity
Sexy
Shisha
Skardface
Skull Killa
Skunk
Smurph
Soulsense Reserve
Sour Apple Diesel
Space Monkey
SPAZ
Spice 99
Spike
Spiz
Starwest Botanicals
Stink Eye
Storm
Super HASH
Super Kush
Supernova Ultra
Tease
The Big Bang
The Bomb
Thrax
Time Traveler
Time Wave 2012
URB Incense
Urban Kaos
Voodoo Child
White Rabbit
White Widow
Wicked
Wizard
Woodstock
XXX
Yucatan Fire
Zero Gravity
Zombie
Zombie Killa
Zombie Matter Zombie Warning
Zombie Wrecked

Uses of Synthetic Marijuana

With a Schedule I classification, synthetic marijuana has no useful medical applications and its only known “uses” are those that recreational users seek to experience. So, what are some of the reasons people use synthetic marijuana?

Lack of social skills – many young people feel awkward in social situations and use “chemically-induced courage” to cope. As Spice and/or K2 are readily available, many teens end up using them.
Low self-esteem – people with poor self-image sometimes make do with a few hours of “feel-good” vibes about themselves by taking drugs, and again Spice is so easy to get.
Peer pressure – Spice/K2 or synthetic marijuana in general is very accessible to adolescents, and the need to be accepted into certain circles is often a compelling enough reason for these kids to try using for the first time and to keep on using afterwards.
Stress – stress is a common motivation for people to begin using drugs that they think will offer an escape, even if only momentary.

Street Names For Synthetic Marijuana

fake pot
fake weed
herbal incense
legal weed
potpourri
synthetic cannabis
synthetic marijuana

Side Effects of Synthetic Marijuana

Synthetic cannabinoids bind to and trigger the same brain receptors that THC does, but while THC is a half/partial agonist only, synthetic cannabinoids are full agonists which produce a full biological response from that receptor.

Even with the limited knowledge gained from a few studies on the effects of synthetic cannabinoids on the brain, the scientific community appreciates that because they bind more strongly to the same cell receptors affected by THC, they produce stronger and more unpredictable effects. Added to this is the fact that most synthetic cannabinoid products have unknown chemical compositions that change all the time to avoid regulation. Some of these effects are similar to those produced by natural marijuana:

altered awareness/perception
confusion
delusion/detachment from reality
elevated mood
extreme anxiety
hallucinations
paranoia
relaxation

Short Term Side Effects of Synthetic Marijuana

Many users, mostly adolescents seek out synthetic marijuana (K2/Spice) for the following marijuana-like effects:

Euphoria
Relaxation
Altered perception

The down side however is that these much sought-after effects have undesirable side-affects, mostly depending on whatever unknown substance is present in this unregulated drug:

Aggression
Hallucinations
Hypertension
Increased heart rate
Panic attacks
Paranoia
Severe anxiety
Vomiting

Long Term Side Effects of Synthetic Marijuana

Because there are limited studies, the long-term effects are not fully understood, other than what poison center experts report – that synthetic marijuana use can be life threatening in the long-term.

Addiction
Myocardial ischemia
Renal damage
Seizures
Forgetfulness
Confusion
Paralysis

K2 Spice Addiction

One sure sign of physical addiction is the presence of associated withdrawal symptoms. Long-term users of Spice/K2 or other synthetic marijuana who try to quit will experience seriously uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms:

K2 spice withdrawal symptoms include:

Depression
Diarrhea
Disinterest in usual activities and interests
Drug cravings
Excessive sweating
Fatigue
Fuzzy thinking
Headaches
Insomnia
Mood changes
Nausea & vomiting
Neglect of duties
Nightmares
Psychosis (hallucinations, paranoia)
Suicidal thoughts
Tremors

History of Synthetic Marijuana

John W. Huffman was an organic chemistry professor at Clemson University back in the 1980s. In 1984, he led a team of researchers and began working on cannabinoids, a class of chemicals found in marijuana. His work was backed by generous grants from the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), and over the next 20 years has developed more than 450 cannabinoids that can mimic the effects of THC, the principal active component of real marijuana. The ultimate goal of his research was the development of pharmaceutical products that would target the endocannabinoid receptors in the body,particularly CB1 and CB2.

While there are other synthetic cannabinoid families (AM-xxx, JWH-xxx, HU-xxx, CP-xx), the JWH family of compounds figured prominently in the blame-game that ensued when synthetic marijuana products began flooding the U.S. market late in 2008, back when there were no DEA or FDA regulations in place. The German pharmaceutical company THC Pharm reported that in at least 3 versions of the herbal blend Spice (which has been selling as incense around the world since 2002 and was all over Europe by 2004),JWH-018 was found to be one of the active components. Germany then prohibited the use of JWH-018, only to discover some 4 weeks later that the new samples they obtained now contained JWH-073. Huffman believes that of the entire JWH family of compounds, JWH-018 is the most widely used as it is more potent than most and is easy to make.

In 2011, testing laboratories began developing LC/MS/MS screening and confirmatory testing for detecting synthetic cannabinoids in response to their increasing prevalence in the American workplace. Employers initially began requesting testing for synthetic cannabinoids due to reasonable suspicion and accidents in the workplace, but by 2012 after the results started showing a trend, the tests were expanded to include pre-employment drug testing and random drug testing and JWH-073 has since been replaced by new synthetics. The exact chemical make-up of synthetic cannabinoids keeps evolving. As more individual compounds are banned by the federal government, underground chemists simply replace them with something else.

More and more high profile corporations (mining, oil & gas, railroads, etc.) include synthetic panels in their workplace drug testing programs and it looks like these programs will only strengthen over time, considering that the manufacturers of these synthetic compounds have so far managed to stay 1 step ahead the law.