Synthetic Cannabinoids
Synthetic marijuana or synthetic cannabinoids also known by many other names such as spice and K2, refer to a growing number of man-made mind-altering chemicals that are either sprayed on dried, shredded plant material so they can be smoked (herbal incense) or sold as liquids to be vaporized and inhaled in e-cigarettes and other devices (liquid incense).
The effects of synthetic cannabinoids are similar to those produced by marijuana: elevated mood, relaxation, altered perception, symptoms of psychosis. Side effects include: extreme anxiety, confusion, paranoia, extreme and unreasonable distrust of others, hallucinations.
User of synthetic cannabinoids and have been taken to emergency rooms have shown severe physical effects including: rapid …show more content…
heart rate, vomiting, violent behavior, suicidal thoughts, raised blood pressure and cause reduced blood supply to the heart, as well as kidney damage and seizures. Use of these drugs is associated with a rising number of deaths.
Synthetic cannabinoids are included in a group of drugs called "new psychoactive substances" (NPS). NPS are unregulated psychoactive substances that have become newly available on the market and are intended to copy the effects of illegal drugs such as mind-altering effects.
Manufacturers sell these products in colorful foil packages and sell similar liquid incense products, like other e-cigarette fluids, in plastic bottles.
They market these products under a wide variety of specific brand names; in past years, K2 and Spice were common. Hundreds of other brand names now exist, such as Joker, Black Mamba, Kush, and Kronic. Synthetic cannabinoid mixtures have been easy to buy in drug paraphernalia shops, novelty stores, gas stations, and at the Internet. Because the chemicals used in them have a high potential for abuse and no medical benefit, authorities have made it illegal to sell, buy, or possess some of these chemicals. However, manufacturers try to sidestep these laws by changing the chemical formulas in their mixtures.
Some of the reasons that contributed in the spread of these drugs are: first, easy access they can be found and accessed all around. Second, cheap cost, which is a big part of the draw. You can find it in bulk online, where it costs in the neighborhood of $50 per ounce. In smoke shops and convenience stores, smaller packets are priced as low as $10. Third, the beliefs that synthetic cannabinoid products are “natural” and therefore harmless have likely contributed to their use among young people. Fourth reason for their use is that standard drug tests cannot easily detect many of the chemicals used in these …show more content…
products.
The consumption of the synthetic marijuana is not limited to a certain way, Users usually smoke the dried plant material sprayed with synthetic cannabinoids. Sometimes they mix the sprayed plant material with marijuana, or they brew it as tea. Other users buy synthetic cannabinoid products as liquids to vaporize them in e-cigarettes.
These chemicals are called cannabinoids because they are related to chemicals found in the marijuana plant.
Synthetic cannabinoids are sometimes misleadingly called "synthetic marijuana" "fake weed", and they are often marketed as "safe," legal alternatives to that drug. Meanwhile, they could affect the brain much more powerfully than marijuana; their actual effects can be unpredictable and, in some cases, severe or even life-threatening.
Synthetic cannabinoids act on the same brain cell receptors as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the mind-altering ingredient in marijuana.
So far, there have been few scientific studies of the effects of synthetic cannabinoids on the human brain, but researchers do know that some of them bind more strongly than marijuana to the cell receptors affected by THC, and may produce much stronger effects. The resulting health effects can be unpredictable.
Synthetic cannabinoids can be addictive. Regular users trying to quit may have the following withdrawal symptoms: headaches, anxiety, depression, irritability. Behavioral therapies and medications have not specifically been tested for treatment of addiction to these
products.
The effects of synthetic cannabinoids are similar to those produced by marijuana: elevated mood, relaxation, altered perception, symptoms of psychosis. Side effects include: extreme anxiety, confusion, paranoia, extreme and unreasonable distrust of others, hallucinations.
User of synthetic cannabinoids and have been taken to emergency rooms have shown severe physical effects including: rapid …show more content…
heart rate, vomiting, violent behavior, suicidal thoughts, raised blood pressure and cause reduced blood supply to the heart, as well as kidney damage and seizures. Use of these drugs is associated with a rising number of deaths.
Synthetic cannabinoids are included in a group of drugs called "new psychoactive substances" (NPS). NPS are unregulated psychoactive substances that have become newly available on the market and are intended to copy the effects of illegal drugs such as mind-altering effects.
Manufacturers sell these products in colorful foil packages and sell similar liquid incense products, like other e-cigarette fluids, in plastic bottles.
They market these products under a wide variety of specific brand names; in past years, K2 and Spice were common. Hundreds of other brand names now exist, such as Joker, Black Mamba, Kush, and Kronic. Synthetic cannabinoid mixtures have been easy to buy in drug paraphernalia shops, novelty stores, gas stations, and at the Internet. Because the chemicals used in them have a high potential for abuse and no medical benefit, authorities have made it illegal to sell, buy, or possess some of these chemicals. However, manufacturers try to sidestep these laws by changing the chemical formulas in their mixtures.
Some of the reasons that contributed in the spread of these drugs are: first, easy access they can be found and accessed all around. Second, cheap cost, which is a big part of the draw. You can find it in bulk online, where it costs in the neighborhood of $50 per ounce. In smoke shops and convenience stores, smaller packets are priced as low as $10. Third, the beliefs that synthetic cannabinoid products are “natural” and therefore harmless have likely contributed to their use among young people. Fourth reason for their use is that standard drug tests cannot easily detect many of the chemicals used in these …show more content…
products.
The consumption of the synthetic marijuana is not limited to a certain way, Users usually smoke the dried plant material sprayed with synthetic cannabinoids. Sometimes they mix the sprayed plant material with marijuana, or they brew it as tea. Other users buy synthetic cannabinoid products as liquids to vaporize them in e-cigarettes.
These chemicals are called cannabinoids because they are related to chemicals found in the marijuana plant.
Synthetic cannabinoids are sometimes misleadingly called "synthetic marijuana" "fake weed", and they are often marketed as "safe," legal alternatives to that drug. Meanwhile, they could affect the brain much more powerfully than marijuana; their actual effects can be unpredictable and, in some cases, severe or even life-threatening.
Synthetic cannabinoids act on the same brain cell receptors as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the mind-altering ingredient in marijuana.
So far, there have been few scientific studies of the effects of synthetic cannabinoids on the human brain, but researchers do know that some of them bind more strongly than marijuana to the cell receptors affected by THC, and may produce much stronger effects. The resulting health effects can be unpredictable.
Synthetic cannabinoids can be addictive. Regular users trying to quit may have the following withdrawal symptoms: headaches, anxiety, depression, irritability. Behavioral therapies and medications have not specifically been tested for treatment of addiction to these
products.