VANCOUVER—Health authorities in Canada and the United States are sounding the alarm about an herbal product usually marketed as incense or potpourri that produces a marijuana-like high when smoked.
But K2, or Spice, which is sold online and in herbal or spiritual shops, can produce worrisome side effects including confusion, a racing heart rate, anxiety, nausea, and agitation, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC).
The product, which sells for between $30 and $70, is a blend of herbs that is sprayed with a marijuana-like drug. Health Canada has said that the substance is smoked for its stimulant properties.
The packaging displays no manufacturer or company name but warns that the product is “not for human consumption.” The ingredients list includes herbs such as mullein, colt’s foot, damiana, and blue lotus.
In the U.S., where K2 is also sold in gas stations, smoke shops, and convenience stores, poison centres have reported at least 112 calls since 2009—including 59 since March this year—from those who had bad reactions after smoking the product. No deaths have been linked to K2.
“Parents should be on the lookout for what looks like incense in their child’s room and watch to see if their children seem more anxious than usual,” said a warning issued in March by the AAPCC.
The imitation pot is reportedly not as widely used in Canada, largely because the real thing is more readily available here and K2 is also classed as a controlled substance. However, the product is still entering the country.
Health Canada is working on providing information to border officials and law enforcement agencies to help them identify products containing the substance, according to Canwest News.
A Health Canada spokesperson told Canwest that the agency took action after enquiries from police departments about whether such products were legal to buy or sell in Canada.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which has dubbed K2 “stealth marijuana,” lists a variety of other names for the leafy product including Spice Gold, Yucatan Fire, Genie, Spice Silver, and Spice Diamond.
According to a DEA report, the substance can be “hundreds of times more potent” than marijuana. The agency’s website says K2 is “reputedly laced with various synthetic cannabinoids or synthetic cannabinoid mimicking compounds.”
In early May, Kansas became the first U.S. state to ban the synthetic marijuana. Others including Missouri—where the substance seems the most popular—Nebraska, and Georgia are also considering measures that would ban the dealing of such products.
But K2, or Spice, which is sold online and in herbal or spiritual shops, can produce worrisome side effects including confusion, a racing heart rate, anxiety, nausea, and agitation, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC).
The product, which sells for between $30 and $70, is a blend of herbs that is sprayed with a marijuana-like drug. Health Canada has said that the substance is smoked for its stimulant properties.
The packaging displays no manufacturer or company name but warns that the product is “not for human consumption.” The ingredients list includes herbs such as mullein, colt’s foot, damiana, and blue lotus.
In the U.S., where K2 is also sold in gas stations, smoke shops, and convenience stores, poison centres have reported at least 112 calls since 2009—including 59 since March this year—from those who had bad reactions after smoking the product. No deaths have been linked to K2.
“Parents should be on the lookout for what looks like incense in their child’s room and watch to see if their children seem more anxious than usual,” said a warning issued in March by the AAPCC.
The imitation pot is reportedly not as widely used in Canada, largely because the real thing is more readily available here and K2 is also classed as a controlled substance. However, the product is still entering the country.
Health Canada is working on providing information to border officials and law enforcement agencies to help them identify products containing the substance, according to Canwest News.
A Health Canada spokesperson told Canwest that the agency took action after enquiries from police departments about whether such products were legal to buy or sell in Canada.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which has dubbed K2 “stealth marijuana,” lists a variety of other names for the leafy product including Spice Gold, Yucatan Fire, Genie, Spice Silver, and Spice Diamond.
According to a DEA report, the substance can be “hundreds of times more potent” than marijuana. The agency’s website says K2 is “reputedly laced with various synthetic cannabinoids or synthetic cannabinoid mimicking compounds.”
In early May, Kansas became the first U.S. state to ban the synthetic marijuana. Others including Missouri—where the substance seems the most popular—Nebraska, and Georgia are also considering measures that would ban the dealing of such products.
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