What Makes Synthetic Marijuana (Spice/K2) So Dangerous?

k2 synthetic marijuanaUse of this relatively new drug tends to be more common among those people who think they might be tested for their drug use. So two groups that may use more of this drug than the general population include teenagers and members of the military. A few years ago, it was true that drug tests could not detect these drugs. But now many of them can be detected with updated drug tests.

There is still a problem with detection – the formulas constantly change. As one chemical is banned by the federal or state government, another chemicals, created by just changing a single molecule, hits the streets. This new formula might not show up on a drug test, even an updated one.

When a person reacts badly to this drug or takes too much (there’s no recommended dosages) he (or she) may end up in the emergency room. Even if he can tell the doctors what he took, they may not know what’s in that package. They will be trying to handle the following symptoms without knowing what he took:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Shortness of breath or depressed breathing
• Dangerously high blood pressure
• Abnormally high heart rate
• Chest pain
• Agitation and anxiety
• Inability to think clearly
• Suicidal thoughts
• Psychosis
• Kidney breakdown and failure

This is one of the reasons why this class of drug is so dangerous.

The other reason involves the phenomenal strength of these drugs. A new study from the University of Maryland and the National Institute on Drug Abuse just reported that these drugs can be between two and one hundred times stronger than actual marijuana. It is little wonder, then, that a person could have a psychotic episode or suffer organ breakdown and death after using one of them.

Synthetic marijuana has no chemical similarity to marijuana. Perhaps it was just a marketing gimmick someone developed when the chemical began to be sold. There is a similarity to the way the drug works in the brain and no other resemblance.

Please warn anyone who might be at increased risk of using these drugs, particularly young people, military and anyone else who might think they could be tested for drug use.

http://www.cadca.org/resources/detail/synthetics-such-k2-and-spice-have-effects-100-times-more-potent-natural-thc