Sunday, November 10th, 2024

Spice Use


Spice Drug

Spice Use

Spice, like Bath Salts, is one of the new, synthetic “legal” drugs on the market. It is also known as K2, Genie Silver and Yucatan Fire. It is not legal to smoke, but you can buy it because it is sold as “incense” and labeled “not for human consumption.” These herbal mixtures are infused with chemicals that activate the same receptors as marijuana.

Spice use gained popularity amongst teens and young 20-somethings because it is legal to buy, inexpensive, and readily available. Spice can be purchased at smoke shops, convenience stores, or on the internet. It is sold in three ounce packages. Spice use is also popular among people who want to pass drug tests-like parolees, people in the military, and people in addiction treatment programs-because many strains are not detectable in drug tests. While there are now drug tests that can detect the five most common kinds of spice; the tests are expensive and cannot detect any of the other hundred types of spice on the market. For these reasons, the tests are very rarely used by law enforcement or private testing companies.

Spice Use – Side effects

Although spice mimics marijuana, spice use can have many more side effects. Marijuana is a natural substance, and even though growers have been able to make it stronger over the years, it is still the same basic drug. The high from spice use, however, depends completely on synthetic chemicals that are completely unregulated. Because spice is labeled “not for human consumption,” spice manufacturers can use whatever mix of chemicals they like. Some have added chemicals to make different kinds of spice that mimic other drugs like meth and ecstasy.

Spice use can produce a strong high as well as psychosis, rapid heartbeat, seizures, and even death. The American Association of Poison Control has observed over a 50% increase in calls related to spice use this year compared to last. Synthetic pot related deaths have also spiked in recent months. In contrast, there has never been a death attributed to marijuana use.

Spice Use – Dangers

One of the biggest dangers of spice use besides the fact that it contains potentially toxic chemicals is that the drug has not been around long enough for anyone to know the long-term consequences. Spice use now could have a major impact on health later in life. Several studies have begun to look into the side-effects of spice use, but it’s just too soon to tell. There is evidence, however, that spice use may cause osteoporosis, liver disease, and some kinds of cancer. Spice use has also been shown to cause depression, and there have been some suicides linked to spice use.

Spice Use – Regulation

Government agencies are having difficulty regulating spice use because the chemists that are designing it can easily stay one step ahead of the regulations. When one chemical formula is banned, synthetic pot chemists simply change the structure slightly, and, for a time, the new compound can elude both drug tests and regulatory laws.  U.S antiterrorism labs, developed after 9/11 to combat biological and chemical weapons, may be enlisted in the attempt to regulate the nearly 150 types of spice on the market today. These labs are charged with researching the chemical composition of these substances and developing tests for them.