Synthetic Marijuana???

[SensiJimmy]

Hi guys, i was looking for some info on what synthetic marijuana does to people, but couldnt find any good threads.

This shop opened couple of weeks ago in my town, they sell pipes, bongs and some smoking mix called marshmallow leaf, which gets u pretty high, its the same stuff as Spice or any other smoking mix that was banned in my country. so but now u can buy it again and i did buy it to try what that is. it gets u a good high, a bit different from actual marijuana but really close to it.

I wanted to know if anyone could lead me to some good information about this thing and what it does to ones health.

 

[Dr_Tre]

Recently this shit got popular in my country too.Stupid folks believe it's safer than weed because it's legal.I would not touch it with a stick.Keep a jar of organic homegrown close to the heart and show the finger to "legal high shops" and their sinthetic bullshit.

 

[GP73LPC]

i think it's some variation of the THC molecule creating some new cannabinoid that interacts with the cannabinoid receptors in the brain.

So if my understanding is correct, the actual drug is probably not damaging, but the material that you smoke that is sprayed with the drug may be hazardous.

i really don't know, this is just what i've read and heard...

 

[SensiJimmy]

Recently this shit got popular in my country too.Stupid folks believe it's safer than weed because it's legal.I would not touch it with a stick.Keep a jar of organic homegrown close to the heart and show the finger to "legal high shops" and their sinthetic bullshit.

i totally dont think its safer than weed, when we smoke weed i have no doubt its safe, but i have questions about this synthetic stuff... like should i go to that store lets say if im out of weed, because in my town it could be a problem sometimes.

 

[zymos]

There's ample evidence that it ISN'T as safe as weed, at least from the mental health standpoint...

 

[PhenoMenal]

The PROs...
- isn't detected in THC tests
- legal in many countries
- can be purchased off the net
- still gets you 'stoned', as it is cannabinoid(s)
- generally a very smooth smoke, might be useful for chemotherapy patients with weakened lungs who struggle to smoke buds (ive seen that myself with my Dad)

The CONs...
- they don't list which plant matter they use, so you don't know what you're actually smoking
- they don't list which synthetic cannabinoids they use
- little is known about synthetic cannabinoids as they're only decades old, not thousands of years old like those found in cannabis
- mixes usually contain just one or two synthetic cannabinoids, not the hundreds that you enjoy from normal bud

It's certainly no REPLACEMENT to cannabis, nor is it any threat to cannabis ... I look at it more as a last resort when you can't find any cannabis around - better to have something to get stoned with than nothing (not all would agree), but use at your own risk!

Just my 2c inc. GST

 

[Sour Deez]

So basically it is synthetic thc?

I can see where it can give you a similar high considering its chemical makeup is similar to thc, but there are alot of cannabinoids in cannabis other then thc. So the high is most definetly lacking.

 

[GP73LPC]

The PROs...
- isn't detected in THC tests
- legal in many countries
- can be purchased off the net
- still gets you 'stoned', as it is cannabinoid(s)
- generally a very smooth smoke, might be useful for chemotherapy patients with weakened lungs who struggle to smoke buds (ive seen that myself with my Dad)

The CONs...
- they don't list which plant matter they use, so you don't know what you're actually smoking
- they don't list which synthetic cannabinoids they use
- little is known about synthetic cannabinoids as they're only decades old, not thousands of years old like those found in cannabis
- mixes usually contain just one or two synthetic cannabinoids, not the hundreds that you enjoy from normal bud

It's certainly no REPLACEMENT to cannabis, nor is it any threat to cannabis ... I look at it more as a last resort when you can't find any cannabis around - better to have something to get stoned with than nothing (not all would agree), but use at your own risk!

Just my 2c inc. GST

i would think using a vaporizer might be the best way to get high of this stuff...

 

[PhenoMenal]

So basically it is synthetic thc?

Synthetic cannabinoids yes ... synthetic THC no, that's why it isn't detected in THC tests. (Specialist tests still detect it but these are in labs)

Synthetic THC would be just as illegal as THC in buds, whereas the synthetic cannabinoids used in 'synthetic marijuana' are for the most part legal until specifically made otherwise.

Even here in Australia although they've now banned 8 different specific brands of synthetic marijuana (K2, Skunk, Spice etc etc) they still haven't actually banned the synthetic cannabinoids themselves (JWH-073 etc).

John W. Huffman, an organic chemist at Clemson University, synthesized analogues and metabolites of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal active component of cannabis. Beginning in 1984, Huffman and his team of researchers began developing cannabinoid compounds to aid in research of multiple sclerosis, AIDS, and chemotherapy. Over the course of twenty years, Huffman and his team developed 450 synthetic cannabinoid compounds which were used to test the effect of cannabinoid receptors in the brain and other organs.

It's a cat-and-mouse game ... if one analog is banned they simply turn to other ones. Example:

On December 15, 2008, it was reported by the German pharmaceutical company THC Pharm that JWH-018 was found as one of the active components in at least three versions of the herbal blend Spice, which has been sold as an incense in a number of countries around the world since 2002. An analysis of samples acquired four weeks after the German prohibition of JWH-018 took place found that the compound had been replaced with JWH-073

 

[GP73LPC]

These are the substances I've seen listed as banned:

JWH-018
JWH-073
JWH-200
JWH-250
JWH-81
JWH-019
HU210
HU211
HU308
HU311
cp47
497/497-c8
Cannibicyclohexanol

 

[PhenoMenal]

These are the substances I've seen listed as banned:

It entirely depends which country (maybe even which state) you're in as to which (if any) are banned.

 

[smokefrogg]

reminds me of friends into research chemicals/designer drugs

 

[zymos]

It's definitely a similar situation, but with most RCs you have to search them out a bit, and some education and precaution usually comes along the way.

...compared to something that is probably sold in a dozen headshops in every town...

 

[seeyouaunty]

Even here in Australia although they've now banned 8 different specific brands of synthetic marijuana (K2, Skunk, Spice etc etc) they still haven't actually banned the synthetic cannabinoids themselves (JWH-073 etc).

They're banned here in NZ as well because they have pharmaceutical anti-convulsant drugs in them!! A whole bunch of youths ended up in hospital here recently because of those products.

Synthetic Marijuana is in the same boat as buying pills and powders: You never really know whats in it.

 

[PhenoMenal]

They're banned here in NZ as well because they have pharmaceutical anti-convulsant drugs in them!!

Citation/proof/article etc please? (perhaps by 'anti-convulsant' they simply mean the cannabinoids themselves?)

 

[seeyouaunty]

Citation/proof/article etc please? (perhaps by 'anti-convulsant' they simply mean the cannabinoids themselves?)

No they mean phenazepam. Like i said with synthetic products you never really know what you're getting, it only takes one dodgy supplier to contaminate a whole batch.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/health/news/article.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=10735599

The presence of phenazepam was first suspected during a screening test last month, and confirmed by subsequent tests.

Lightyears Ahead said Pineapple Express was not meant to contain phenazepam, and it was unaware the blend did.

[Lightyears Ahead] said the presence of the prescription medicine was a "contamination", and at 300 parts per million it was a "small amount"

But Dr Schep said every joint of Pineapple Express would deliver about 60 per cent of a normal therapeutic dose of phenazepam.

"That is not a contaminant, I'm sorry."

 

[seeyouaunty]

As a followup:

WHAT IS PHENAZEPAM?
* A strong prescription benzodiazepine, or sedative, produced in Russia and some other former USSR countries.
* Normally used to treat disorders such as epilepsy, drug withdrawal and anxiety disorders.
* Effects greatly pronounced when combined with alcohol, which in extreme cases can lead to respiratory repression or even coma.
* Little is known about drug's effects when combined with synthetic cannabinoids.
* Very potent and long acting, it is a drug of abuse in many countries.

 

[PhenoMenal]

Whether this is true or not (and I suspect it is) this is another good example of why you simply cannot trust what you get from synthetic cannabis ... I mean in this case even the supplier is saying it was a 'contamination' as if they had no control over it when it's a psychoactive chemical that's been _added_!!!