K2 (drug)
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K2 is a herbal smoking blend made of herbs and spices sprayed with synthetic
cannabinoids (notably
JWH-018), which mimic the effects of
cannabis. It is produced in
China and
Korea. It can be
consumed in ways comparable to cannabis.
It is a product similar to
Spice[1] K2 comes in many varieties with names such as Blonde, Summit, Pink, Blue, Standard, and Citron.
[2] No official studies have been conducted on its effects on humans.
[3] Though its effects are not well documented, it may cause negative effects that are not noted in marijuana users, such as increased agitation and vomiting.
[4]
It is legal and readily available throughout most of the
United States. Its use has sparked alarm in several states including
Kansas which has banned the sale and possession of its active chemicals,
[5] and the town council of
St. Charles, Missouri has passed emergency legislation banning its sale.
[6] The
US Army has banned soldiers' use.
[7]
Spice (drug)
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A bag of
Spice
For other uses, see
Spice (disambiguation).
Spice is a brand name for a mixture of
herbs that has been sold in
smartshops in Europe, Canada and other parts of the world since around 2002, purportedly as an
incense, as well as over the Internet as an "herbal smoking blend". Even though the manufacturer officially warns against human ingestion of Spice, it is usually smoked for its
cannabis-like effects which are believed to be caused by a mixture of synthetic
cannabinoid drugs. Several different "flavours" of Spice have been marketed which have been shown to contain different proportions of the synthetic cannabinoid active ingredients, and reportedly produce subtly different effects.
Ingredients
Spice was claimed by the manufacturers to contain a mixture of traditionally used medicinal herbs, each of which supposedly produces mild effects with the overall blend resulting in the cannabis-like intoxication produced by the product. Herbs listed on the packaging include
Canavalia maritima,
Nymphaea caerulea,
Scutellaria nana,
Pedicularis densiflora,
Leonotis leonurus,
Zornia latifolia,
Nelumbo nucifera and
Leonurus sibiricus. However, when the product was analysed by laboratories in Germany and elsewhere, it was found that many of the characteristic "fingerprint" molecules expected to be present from the claimed plant ingredients could not be located. There were also large amounts of synthetic
tocopherol present. This suggested that the actual ingredients might not be the same as what was listed on the packet, and a German government risk assessment of the product conducted in November 2008 concluded that it was unclear what the actual plant ingredients were, where the synthetic tocopherol had come from, and whether the subjective cannabis-like effects were actually produced by any of the claimed plant ingredients or instead might possibly be caused by a synthetic cannabinoid drug.
[1]
[edit] Synthetic cannabinoid ingredients
On December 15 2008, it was announced by German pharmaceutical company THCPharm, that
JWH-018 had been found as one of the active components in at least three versions of the supposedly "herbal" smoking blend, cannabis substitute drug Spice, which had been sold in a number of countries around the world since 2002 as an "incense" or legal substitute for marijuana.
[2][3][4][5][6]
On January 19 2009, it was announced by the
University of Freiburg in Germany that the other main active substance in Spice is an undisclosed
analogue of the synthetic cannabinoid
CP 47,497.
[7] On the 22nd January 2009, CP 47,497 along with its dimethylhexyl, dimethyloctyl and dimethylnonyl
homologues, were added to the German controlled drug schedules ("Betäubungsmittelgesetz").
[8][9] Different ratios of JWH-018 and CP 47,497 and their analogues had apparently been used in the various different varieties of Spice.
Another potent synthetic cannabinoid,
HU-210, has been reported to have been found in Spice seized by
U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
[10]
.... this is exactly what is causing all the fuss.... kids buy it, have no clue whats in it, and just smoke away, not even caring to know what it is that they are actually imbibing.... have fun
