Cocaine. Meth. Heroin. Even the most sheltered among us recognize the names of these infamous illegal drugs. The “Don’t do drugs” mantra has been repeated with gritty persistence since my own days in elementary school.
In 1987, I gaped over a bowl of Cookie Crisp cereal at the “This is your brain on drugs” fried egg TV commercial. That image and witty warning are still seared in my now 44-year-old brain. Education, repetition, and fear (yes, I’ll pass on my brain sizzling sunny side up!) have hopefully steered many a curious kid from trying these harmful substances.
Yet now, in this day of clever counterfeits, we would do well to heed Apostle Paul’s warning in 2 Corinthians 11:14: “Satan masquerades as an angel of light.”
Indeed.
When I first heard the term “vaping spice,” my naïve thoughts wandered down the grocery store baking aisle. Do people seriously vape stuff like cinnamon or cloves? Is that harmful? After a brief internet search, I realized “spice” in the setting of drug use revealed words such as “synthetic,” “manufactured,” and “fake.” This sham has been masquerading as “fake” marijuana, duping the user into thinking: It’s not real marijuana, so it’s legal and safe. Wrong. This really is your brain on drugs.
What Is Synthetic Weed?
So what is “synthetic marijuana,” and how did it come into existence? The more encompassing term is “cannabinoid,” defined by the National Cancer Institute as “a type of chemical in marijuana that causes drug-like effects all through the body, including the central nervous system and the immune system. The main active cannabinoid in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).”
Synthetic marijuana was created by a Clemson University chemist named John Huffman in the early 1990s. According to the American Addiction Centers website, Huffman received funding to study cannabinoids but was not given approval to use the natural plant. Working around this roadblock, Huffman created the JWH-018 compound—a synthetic cannabinoid. Huffman and his team engaged in nothing nefarious; they simply ran tests and wrote a report. “However, the formula surfaced a few years later as an alternative to real marijuana. The JWH-018 compound was being used to help people get a marijuana-like high without testing positive on a drug test for naturally occurring THC,” states the website.
There are many street names for synthetic cannabis, but the most popular are “K2” and “spice.” The “spice” name probably came from the practice of labeling the packages as harmless “potpourri.”
Is it legal? In 2012, President Barack Obama signed the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act, which permanently placed several classes of psychoactive substances into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Individual states are using various methods to ban the sale of synthetics, including placing criminal and civil penalties on sellers attempting to peddle products that are clearly unlawful (and clearly for human consumption) yet labeled “not for human consumption.”
What’s in it? Unknown, dried “plant matter” (for smoking)—including vegetables, herbs, and spices—which are sprayed with chemicals similar to THC, making it look like natural marijuana. It is also produced in liquid form for e-cigarette/vaping devices. While smoking and vaping are the most common ways to use synthetic weed, other methods include using the dried matter in tea, or even baked goods such as brownies.
This Feb. 15, 2010, file photo shows a package of K2, a concoction of dried herbs sprayed with a synthetic compound chemically similar to THC, the main ingredient in marijuana. (Kelley McCall/AP Photo)
Synthetic Weed Is More Dangerous Than Marijuana
If the intended goal is “getting high,” using synthetic cannabinoids does achieve similar outcomes as marijuana. But the health consequences of the “fake” are far more serious.
C. Michael White, professor and head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Connecticut, makes an appalling claim: “Synthetic cannabinoids are 30 times more likely to harm you than regular marijuana. ... There are several hundred synthetic cannabinoids in existence, and they all stimulate cannabinoid type 1 receptors (CB1), just like the active component in natural marijuana, THC, that provides the high. But they do so with different intensities and for differing periods of time. Some incorporate the central ring structure of the THC molecule before laboratory modification, but many others do not. More problems arise because some of the synthetic cannabinoids stimulate non-cannabinoid receptors and can cause unanticipated effects as well. There is no way to know which synthetic cannabinoids are actually in the product you purchased.”
Synthetic weed can contain a host of “unknowns,” and the exposed contaminants are horrifying. Here is just a sampling of a broader list: brodifacoum (an anticoagulant, or blood thinner, in rat poison), heavy metals, pesticides, mold, salmonella, fentanyl.
Dr. Ashwin Reddy, a psychiatrist at the Boston University School of Medicine, warns specifically of the effects on the brain. A study that he conducted found that K2 may “increase the risk of psychosis, even among people with no history of a psychiatric disorder.” Reddy also noted that “K2 is a more potent substance than natural marijuana by its actions on the brain. It can cause an increased risk of paranoia, hearing voices, disorganized behavior and panic symptoms.”
Dr. Fred Kinnicutt, a child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist in Eugene, Oregon, states, “Research studies show if kids under the age of 16 use marijuana, real or synthetic, on a regular basis, they will lose 10 IQ points by the time they are adults.” Kinnicutt also describes what he has seen in the past two to three years in his own office and the psychiatric hospital due to cannabinoids: “I’m definitely seeing an increase in psychosis—adults and kids being removed from reality, hearing voices, seeing things not there, or delusional thinking. They are very impaired. And signs of psychosis can still be present even a year later after stopping marijuana use.”
The laundry list of symptoms and side effects of something that I first dismissed as cinnamon and cloves cannot be ignored: stroke, seizure, coma, psychosis, violent behavior, suicidal thoughts, hypertension, chest pain, severe nausea and vomiting, excessive bleeding, and loss of consciousness, among others.
Synthetic Drug Testing and Treatment Needs Improvement in Hospitals
Mark (not his real name) is a talented teenage skater with loving parents, a home in an upscale neighborhood, and outstanding grades. So when he rushed out the door one afternoon with his skateboard in tow, his mom smiled, knowing that he would enjoy the sunny afternoon at the local skatepark. But as good kids sometimes do, from curiosity instead of malice, Mark and his friends became entangled with a drug dealer who purposely lurked around teen hangouts. Innocent-looking bottles labeled “Spice” were handed out to be used in vape pens that the dealer provided.
Mark vaped spice only a few times, but the effects were strong enough to send him to the hospital a year and a half later with signs of psychosis. And multiple trips to local emergency rooms did little to help. In fact, it was Mark’s confession to his dad, not the hospital, that finally revealed the probable cause of his health issues.
Stunningly, most hospitals don’t test for synthetic cannabinoids despite their grave dangers. The CDC website states that “synthetic cannabinoids are not detectable on most standard in-house hospital drug screens.” Jill Norris, a registered nurse in San Diego with more than 10 years of nursing experience, confirmed this statement, saying: “Hospitals typically do not test for illegal synthetic drugs routinely. Fentanyl (a synthetic opioid) is an illegal drug we can test for, but we usually don’t because it is a separate, more expensive test. This is also true for Spice/K2; tests are available, but I’ve never seen them used in the hospital.”
In Mark’s case, because his symptom was psychosis, Norris explained that standard hospital protocol was only a temporary fix. Before Mark’s admission concerning spice, he was promptly put on an anti-psychotic medication to sedate him. Once he rested and was calm, a post-discharge treatment plan (which was simply to see a counselor) was discussed, and then out the door he was shuffled. Thankfully, Mark is doing better with the appropriate treatment. Still, hospitals must better identify and treat health problems related to synthetic weed.
A man prepares to smoke "Spice," a synthetic marijuana drug, along a New York City street on Aug. 5, 2015. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Law Enforcement: A New Tool in Fighting Synthetic Cannabinoids
Many times, our brave men and women in law enforcement face the fiercest of side effects in synthetic overdoses: extreme, violent behavior. Because these chemicals can cause psychosis, users may experience “loss of reason, loss of ability to communicate, loss of ability to feel pain—rendering users violent and hard to subdue,” according to the Police1 website.
Despite police efforts to crack down on these substances, manufacturers use the law to their advantage. As a result, chemical substances deemed illegal are slightly changed, and the new, legal products flood the market. In years past, it would take months for officials to identify these new substances, label them illegal, then start the now-tardy process of enforcement. But, in November 2021, officers received a much-needed new weapon in this ongoing battle.
If synthetic weed producers can make a simple, single-molecule alteration to deem their drugs temporarily lawful, police need a way to anticipate those soon-to-be unlawful products. The Daily Beast, on Nov. 15, 2021, reported an amazing breakthrough: “Researchers at the University of British Columbia created an A.I. model that can predict what kind of new synthetic drugs are most likely to be made and appear on the market, giving cops a heads-up that could shrink drug investigations down from months to days. The model is detailed in a new study published in Nature Machine Intelligence.”
The testing of this new model is showing astounding results, according to the study report. “Dr. [Michael A.] Skinnider and his colleagues used a database of known psychoactive substances contributed by forensic laboratories around the world to train an artificial intelligence algorithm on the structures of these drugs. Based on this training, the model then generated about 8.9 million potential designer drugs. These molecules were then tested against 196 new designer drugs that emerged on the illicit market after the model was trained. The researchers found more than 90 percent were present in the generated set.”
Additionally, the model “learned which molecules were more likely to appear on the market, and which were less likely.” With this new technology, law enforcement will hopefully gain ground in severely limiting or even blocking synthetic cannabinoids from making it to potential users.
What Can We Do?
Perhaps some of you may have already fallen victim to the advertising siren call and are struggling to fight addiction. Or you, like me, are a concerned parent, and you’re asking yourself, “What can I do?” Here are some suggestions.
Examine E-Cigarettes
Despite the labeling, “natural hemp” products for e-cigarettes/vaping machines may still be tainted by synthetics. The University of Rochester Medical Center conducted a test (published on Dec. 10, 2021: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chemrestox.1c00388) and the results were astounding: “Of the 27 products tested from 10 brands, none had accurate labeling regarding Delta-8 THC, a synthetic form of the psychoactive component of cannabis, and many contained cutting agents or synthetic byproducts that were not listed on the label. Eleven of the tested products contained byproducts of Delta-8 THC synthesis, including heavy metals, like mercury and lead, and unintended cannabinoids, including one that had never before been described and several others whose safety is unknown.”
Norris, the registered nurse, also cautioned that heavy metals may be absorbed into the body from the vaping devices themselves. “Vape pens contain metal coils, and if these coils are old, they can leach dangerous metals into your system such as mercury, which goes straight to the brain, causing neurological disorders. Aluminum poisoning can also cause schizophrenic symptom,” she said.
Encourage Treatment
Addiction is inevitable for some users with this continual and ever-changing flood of law-skirting products on the market. Get treatment immediately if you or a loved one is addicted to synthetic cannabinoids. Detox programs specifically for synthetics are now available. Contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at 1-800-662-4357 for confidential and free help. For a detailed look at what detox involves and to find a center, see Detox.net/synthetic-marijuana.
Norris also said a heavy metal detox called chelation therapy might benefit some people. But this treatment (usually intravenous medication administered on a set schedule) must be performed by a licensed medical team. Talk to your doctor first about the benefits and risks of chelation.
Lastly, Kinnicutt stresses the importance of accountability. “Don’t try to get help alone. Reach out to someone trustworthy to walk with you during treatment and encourage you along the journey,” he said.
Educate Kids
The final and most important step is education. We must teach our kids to steer clear of this unsafe product. Synthetic marijuana’s many sins go beyond its dangerous chemicals. The labeling clearly targets children. Parents, use Google to search “synthetic weed packaging” with your kids, and show them the colorful, cartoon-inspired names and images. And be aware it’s not just individual drug dealers peddling it. These toxic compounds may even be available in convenience shops or sold online as “incense or natural herbal products.”
According to the CDC: “Hundreds of different synthetic cannabinoid chemicals are manufactured and sold. New ones with unknown health risks become available each year.” If you see any of these products for sale in retail stores, contact your local police.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
