- 1. The Dose of Spice or K2 is Harder to Control Than Marijuana
- 2. Spice or K2 Ingredients Are Unknown and Ever-Changing
- 3. The Death Toll of Spice Abuse is Increasing
- 4. Spice Has a High Addictive Potential
- 5. Spice is Easy to Get
As marijuana occupies a hazy legal status--being legal in some states and illegal in many others--Spice is considered a "legal" alternative to marijuana.What is Spice?
Spice, also known as synthetic marijuana or "K2" is a commercially available product that is artificially coated with synthetic cannabinoids, and produces markedly different long-term effects than marijuana.
1. The Dose of Spice or K2 is Harder to Control Than Marijuana
- With Spice, the dosage is highly unpredictable. Two packets of the same brand may have radically different ingredients or ingredients in different proportions.
- This means you might feel pleasantly high with one dose, but violently ill with the next.
2. Spice or K2 Ingredients Are Unknown and Ever-Changing
Marijuana is grown, not manufactured. So for better or for worse, you know what you're getting when you use marijuana.
With Spice, there's no requirement that manufacturers list their ingredients. And even when they do, the lists may be incomplete or misleading. As law enforcement continues to crack down on Spice production, many manufacturers have taken to changing their formulations every few months, in an effort to avoid running afoul of the law. These products are often labeled "not fit for human consumption," and the changing ingredients mean that you might get radically different results with each use.
3. The Death Toll of Spice Abuse is Increasing
While marijuana has potentially significant negative implications for mental health and general physiology, there has never been an overdose due to marijuana. But the death count associated with Spice is increasing at an alarming rate.
- Synthetic marijuana sent 11,000 people to emergency rooms in 2010.
- It kills about two dozen people each year.
- That number is especially startling in light of the fact that K2 use is less common than abuse of most other drugs.
Even if you survive Spice usage, you may not escape unscathed. Some of the effects of long-term Spice usage include:
- Changes in cognition, personality, and intelligence.
- Memory loss.
- Brain damage.
- Depression and anxiety.
- Aggressive behavior.
- Thoughts of suicide.
- Gastrointestinal problems such as vomiting and diarrhea.
- Decreased immunity.
- Skin infections.
- Rapid heart rate and other cardiovascular problems.
4. Spice Has a High Addictive Potential
Like most mind-altering substances, Spice is addictive.
- Because the dosage is hard to control, though, the timetable from first use to addiction is often much shorter with synthetic marijuana.
- Once an individual develops a dependence, quitting Spice without medical help becomes nearly impossible.
- Painful withdrawal symptoms, the sense that you can't be normal without Spice, and escalating psychological distress are all likely to send you back to the drug.
Spice Abuse & Addiction
5. Spice is Easy to Get
