Synthetic Cannabis

[chillimushroom]

I recently bought some old copies of H*gh T*mes circa 2004, and one of the things that really struck me as odd was all the adverts for synthetic cannabis. I had never heard of this stuff until recently and the more I have read the less I like about it. One thing I cannot understand is why, when amazing strains of genuine cannabis are available, are people choosing the fake option. Also why is a magazine that champions cannabis promoting a synthetic and from what I have read more dangerous alternative?

I would like to hear from anyone who has tried this stuff, my opinion is solely based on what I have read having never tried it.

 

[Treetroit City]

Well I've never tried it but can tell you that a lot of kids were using it because they could still pass a drug test.

As for HT advertising, well they are about money making more than they are about "championing" any cause.

 

[Agaricus]

The "old-time" fake pot was herbal in nature, not synthetic. There are quite a few plants that have, to varying degrees, psychoactive properties. None of this stuff is actually a subsitute for the real thing and some of it just give you a cough and a sore throat. However, some was kind of pleasant. Not strong, just kind of nice. I can't remember offhand what the best herbs are but some of the herbal sites have info on what might be psychoactive, then erowid has info on whether it really works or not.

I don't know if it's still being advertised but "lettuce opium" actually works. Makes ya mellow. Not at all like weed but pretty good. Easy to make with a simple iso extraction.

Reports I've read about the truly synthetic stuff like K2 and whatever are mixed. Consensus is that they're OK but really mild and the buzz has a different "quality" than the real thing. In spite of propaganda saying otherwise, it's VERY doubtful that it has any effects like bath salts.

 

[Ruosk]

Synthetic cannabioids are quite commonly available over the internet (and sometimes over the counter in some smart shops). One gets banned, two new ones pop up, which is the case with all 'designer drugs' or 'research chemicals'. The most well known series, JWH, was actually created by NIDA for reasearching the cannabinoid system. As for the risks, well, no one knows really - as far as I know there have been no fatal OD's, but some people have suffered pretty serious and long lasting side effects due to heavy use of mainly JWH-018 and AM2201. As these chemicals are all quite new, no one knows if there are long term health risks.

I've tried a few myself, JWH-081, -210, -250, AM694, RCS-4 at least. While some of them are quite pleasant (especially 081 which feels a bit like nice relaxing black hash) the high of all I've sampled has been disappointingly short lasting and effects lacking compared to the real deal. Also tolerance builds up really, really, really fast.

So why people smoke that shit? Well, you can order them over the internet and these synthetics are dirt cheap, for a price of a few grams of good bud, you'll get a gram and most potent ones are effective at a few milligrams. You do the math.

edit. NOT recommending anyone to try these - STICK TO THE GOOD OL' WEED, IT'S MUCH BETTER FOR YOU!

edit 2. Agaricus: yeah I remember those herbal things too - never tried them, but judging from herbs that are used, sore throat and a headache are the wildest effects you'll get from those, lol.

 

[Sat X RB]

these are quite popular in Oz at the moment.

as mentioned above when one variety is put on the banned list the offending ingredient is changed and the slightly altered product ends up on the market again.

there's a french word "dilletante' which means someone who's not serious about what they do. so this stuff is for dilletante's.

cheers!

 

[supermanlives]

never tried any . never plan on trying any.

 

[Arthritis_sucks]

Very lasting mental effects, there are kids coming into the hospital out here in NV that seem to be stuck in a mental mind fuk, that stays like permafry.

 

[MIway]

They just put a state wide ban here... And even arrested a few gas station owners that were selling it under the counter. We've had a couple incidents of violence associated with kids... One lady even shot dead her grandson that was apparently using it. ???

 

[Arthritis_sucks]

Yup I believe it, these chemist are reworking the chemical makeup of hard drugs an sellin it to our kids. I've warned my son about this stuff an if I ever found out one of these liquer stores sold him any I would drag out the clerk an beat him senseless then drop a vile of cid down his throat. For starters!

 

[DeepestCover]

Synthetic cannabioids are quite commonly available over the internet (and sometimes over the counter in some smart shops). One gets banned, two new ones pop up, which is the case with all 'designer drugs' or 'research chemicals'. The most well known series, JWH, was actually created by NIDA for reasearching the cannabinoid system. As for the risks, well, no one knows really - as far as I know there have been no fatal OD's, but some people have suffered pretty serious and long lasting side effects due to heavy use of mainly JWH-018 and AM2201. As these chemicals are all quite new, no one knows if there are long term health risks.

I've tried a few myself, JWH-081, -210, -250, AM694, RCS-4 at least. While some of them are quite pleasant (especially 081 which feels a bit like nice relaxing black hash) the high of all I've sampled has been disappointingly short lasting and effects lacking compared to the real deal. Also tolerance builds up really, really, really fast.

So why people smoke that shit? Well, you can order them over the internet and these synthetics are dirt cheap, for a price of a few grams of good bud, you'll get a gram and most potent ones are effective at a few milligrams. You do the math.

edit. NOT recommending anyone to try these - STICK TO THE GOOD OL' WEED, IT'S MUCH BETTER FOR YOU!

edit 2. Agaricus: yeah I remember those herbal things too - never tried them, but judging from herbs that are used, sore throat and a headache are the wildest effects you'll get from those, lol.

Couple of kids died on JWH-018 OD here a couple of years ago.. Or thats what they say, they apparently they didnt know shit about the dosage and consumed it in the pure form. Thats what u get when u advertise something as legal cannabis...

 

[crazybear]

I've seen this S**t, I'll never try it, IT SAYS NOT FOR CONSUMPTION on the package WHY would anybody use it????????!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[mr.brunch]

problem is, people still think:
legal = safe
illegal = harmful... and, more dangerously,
illegal = all the same

 

[Bi0hazard]

I read a story of someone who smoked a lot of JWH-018 (K2). He ended up potentially damaging his cannabinoid system, where anytime he smoked real cannabis in the future he would get such a horrible "Brain Melting" head ache it was debilitating. Basically, by smoking too much JWH-018 he made it so he may never be able to enjoy smoking actual cannabis again...

Supposedly some of the JWH's are more stable, while others produce free-radicals (The chemicals do not fully bind to receptors and leave behind chemicals that can be toxic, usually to the site they were operating). This could be the cause of some of the damage from JWH's and possibly other synthetic cannabinoids. In reality they haven't had the level of testing, compared to the amount of studies showing the safety and lack of any toxicity found in grown cannabis.

Definitely stick to just herb, even if someone is on drug testing it would be better to wait till they are off and smoke cannabis than try JWH's, Spice, K2 while they are waiting.

Who would ever want to risk damaging their ability to smoke real cannabis in the future? Definitely not worth it to me. Not to say all the cannabis synthetics are unstable and as dangerous... It's still not worth it IMO.

-------- THIS IS NOT ME - IT IS A QUOTE FROM THE POST OF THE PERSON WHO EXPERIENCED THE DAMAGE FROM K2 (JWH-018) ------

I'm sure you all have heard of K2 Summit, and probably smoked it some time or another, well here is my story about it, and how it's ruined my life.

So since the age of 16 I've recreationally smoked marijuana, I'm now almost 19 and all my good friends and most the people I know still do. A few months ago, around October, I had a couple friends in trouble with the law, as well as a few friends who preferred the legality and high of K2, who started smoking K2 Summit everyday.

I smoked it on only about 5 occasions total, the last two it totally took me to a bad place. The feeling is indescribable, but I remember I could only sit there with my hands on my face, my brain in intense pain, feeling as though it was just melting into itself, nothing like a headache, leaps and bounds worse.

About a week later I started getting horrible headaches, this is in December. They got worse and worse and worse. This horrible feeling (there's no possible way to describe how painful it is) in my brain would return everytime I :
a.)ate sugar
b.)was up more than 8 hours
c.)took tylenol or any over the counter pain reliever
d. take any medication to make me tired
e. took my ADD medication (ridalin)
f. ate salt
g.worst of all, I couldn't smoke weed anymore, ever. I imagine for most people, this wouldn't be such a big deal. Other drugs are nice, sure, but I am a pothead. I love the giggles, I love the munchies, I love the perception, I love the creative flow, I love how it makes music amazing, sex, everything. No more of it. Imagine every time you're hanging out with friends, time after time you're offered a blunt, or a joint, or anything, and you have to refuse because if you take just one toke, for the next five hours you'll wish you were dead, because the brain melting pain just isn't worth it.

Worse yet, nobody can possibly relate, and I have nobody to relate to, because I can't find any reason for it on the internet, nobody with the same symptoms, everyone just says how awesome they think it is. I have one friend, who this started happening to, after he smoked it literally every hour of every day for 3 months straight. Now I have one other person in the same boat as me, but we still have found no help in the world.

(Sorry this is so long, but I feel all of this is necessary.)

These headaches begin when we wake up, and end when we fall asleep. The rest of the time they can be anywhere from tolerable, though still painful, to "I'm sorry I just can't deal with this conversation/work/hobby/anything"

We've both been to neurologists and brain surgeons, had MRIs and CAT scans done, taken different medications to help, but nobody has any idea, they just treat it like a headache, and all the headache medications only seem to make it worse.

 

[datruth]

i see that stuff at the smokeshop . its expensive as weed IMHO

 

[armedoldhippy]

tried the K2 & versions of it for a while for the same reason it was popular amongst cops, doctors, nurses, folks on probation etc... to pass a drug test & keep my job in this shitty economy.
it has similar effects as weed, but is the same shit over & over again; no variation in flavor, effect etc. plus, i found it to be short-lasting & more habit forming than any natural product out there. kids here were rolling hoglegs like it was real pot & having panic attacks, heart palpitations, etc. i don't miss it at all...

 

[GetUpStandUp]

Dont know, its like saying I have dehyraded water for sale, I mean really, does a fleshlight from a porn shop feel like real pussy? I have no idea, so I stick with the real, hell are we that numb today and forget that advertisment is false? Name one thing as advertised is what you got? Fake weed, fake food, fake pussy=fake nation!

 

[sso]

synthetic cannabis, sounds like a headache to me.

 

[Ironeek]

I mean really, does a fleshlight from a porn shop feel like real pussy? I have no idea
.

Im sure you dont

 

[sso]

Im sure you dont

if a fleshlight feels like a pussy, then im a monkeys ass.

(and ive never tried it, a fistful of dollars for a rubberpussy sounds farfetched to me.)

 

[señorsloth]

i dunno, i smoked a ton of that stuff a few years back, it's meh, but i would smoke a joint of weed, a joint of k2, and a cigarette all at once every evening for a month or two...it makes the weed stronger it seems like, if you smoke them together, but it wasn't worth the price, and the high is lame and gets old fast...something tells me that smoking the stuff 5 times wouldn't turn some 16 year old kid into a wreck...

the kids probably just dehydrated, they say over 80% of headaches are caused by dehydration...i have never had a headache that i couldn't cure with 2 BIG glasses of water and an hour or two to soak in...of course if you make sure to drink a lot of water you will never get headaches to begin with, your body also retains less water when you are well hydrated, so you look more shredded instead of pudgy...unless you are pudgy then you can't be helped...