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Synthetic (Cannabis, Spice, K2, Herbal Incense)

Synthetic (Cannabis, Spice, K2, Herbal Incense)

New Jersey Illegal Synthetic Cannabis Drug Possession Criminal Defense Attorneys

Drug Information About Synthetic Cannabis

Street names: Spice, K2, “herbal incense”, fake pot, etc.

Drug Classification: Concerns about the lack of information available about these synthetic cannabinoids led the DEA to schedule 5 cannabinoids (JWH-018; JWH-073; and JWH-200; cannabicyclohexanol; and CP47,497) as Schedule I substances in February of 2011, with the ban lasting a year and with potential for extension. Following the ban, new products that somehow avoided the law rapidly hit the shelves and will continue to be developed and released with little knowledge of their chemical composition and long-term health effects.

General Information

“Spice” refers to any legal smoking blend that purports to mimic the effects of smoking cannabis. Blends are available online and commonly are composed of dried herbs coated with synthetic cannabinoids.

Some spice and synthetic products claim to produce a marijuana-like high but have been reported to be substantially less pleasurable, with headaches and nausea a much more common occurrence.

Synthetic cannabinoids were first introduced in 2006 and gained popularity because they were unscheduled, allowing police officers, military personnel, or others who must take drug tests as a condition for employment to pursue a cannabis-like intoxication. But adverse reactions to these herbs and chemicals, such as anxiety, agitation, vomiting, racing heartbeat, hallucinations, and seizures, were being reported and were increasing emergency-room and poison-control center visits.

Legal Spice Products Are Dangerous

Spice products are produced overseas and shipped into the US. Some Spice products have been seized by US customs because they contain HU-210, a Schedule I substance already banned in the law banning THC, but this has not eliminated the market for legal alternatives to cannabis.

Following the ban, new products that somehow avoided the law rapidly hit the shelves and will continue to be developed and released with little knowledge of their chemical composition and long-term health effects.

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