The dangers of synthetic cannabis

In France, we've heard a number of tragic stories involving flakka: one guy in Florida impaled himself on a fence after smoking it.

This synthetic marijuana, also known as spice or K2, is an ever-evolving substance that has made headlines in Syracuse, New York and Russia in recent years. It drives some users out of control, with animal-like behavior, including grunting.

To get an idea, watch the video below:

The worst part of it all isn't necessarily the horror of the stories, but that spice is highly addictive. In Syracuse, threats to close down stores selling synthetic cannabis only strengthened its presence on the black market, and had no effect on overdose rates, which rose at the same time as the drug arrived a few months earlier.

In response to this crisis, some prosecutors in the USA are attempting to target synthetic drug producers directly, a more effective tactic than going after dealers, but a temporary one. Imprisoned producers will always be replaced by others, especially in the case of synthetic drugs such as bath salts where production is carried out on assembly lines.

These drugs attract users for obvious reasons: firstly, they are highly effective; secondly, they are inexpensive; and thirdly, they are undetectable when tested.

Thanks to the Internet and the ease of finding these chemicals, often bought in China and then packaged into products like spice or K2, countries around the world are faced with a new way of making drugs. They have entered the market through legal loopholes that prohibit certain substances, such as cannabis, but not others. cannabinoids that mimic its effects. The floodgates were open, and demand continues despite prohibition. Marijuana prohibition may have helped create a new market for legal alternatives.

Today, the enforcement of laws against new drugs has in fact exacerbated the problem. Visit synthetic cannabis has been placed on the same level as cannabis, as a Schedule 1 drug, which makes scientific research into it much more complicated. While scientists could have determined the causes of its violent effects, and why they affect some users and not others, the law prevents them from doing so.

Data on the potential toxicity or effects of mixtures of different brands of K2 and their common interaction are, for the moment, non-existent. Prevention against synthetic cannabis is therefore difficult to implement.

A 2014 study determined that synthetic cannabis was the second most popular drug used by students. Fortunately, not all users turn into wild animals, which would have turned campuses into zoos.