To Spice or Not To Spice…

This is on the Wikipedia page:

Spice is a brand name of, and generic slang, for an herbal mixture laced with synthetic cannabinoids such as JWH-018.[1] The various Spice products are produced by several manufacturers and marketed under various names[1] Spice products are sold online and in smoke shops as an incense or “herbal smoking blend”, but the products are usually smoked for their cannabis-like effects.

Spice is claimed by the manufacturers to contain a mixture of traditionally used medicinal herbs, each of which supposedly produces mild effects with the overall blend resulting in the cannabis-like intoxication produced by the product. Herbs listed on the packaging include Canavalia maritima, Nymphaea caerulea, Scutellaria nana, Pedicularis densiflora, Leonotis leonurus, Zornia latifolia, Nelumbo nucifera and Leonurus sibiricus. However, when the product was analysed by laboratories in Germany and elsewhere, it was found that many of the characteristic “fingerprint” molecules expected to be present from the claimed plant ingredients could not be located. There were also large amounts of synthetic tocopherol present. This suggested that the actual ingredients might not be the same as what was listed on the packet, and a German government risk assessment of the product conducted in November 2008 concluded that it was unclear what the actual plant ingredients were, where the synthetic tocopherol had come from, and whether the subjective cannabis-like effects were actually produced by any of the claimed plant ingredients or instead might possibly be caused by a synthetic cannabinoid drug. Upon further analysis it was reported in a German toxicology report that there were some harmful effects of Spice. Although not containing the same additives, A three gram package of Spice is said [by one study] to have the same health effects as a pack of cigarettes, although no conclusive evidence of this exists outside of the study.[2]

Well hallelujah for the war on drugs pushing people away from illegal marijuana and into much more harmful Spice.

Legalize, regulate, and tax all drugs. Mankind has been getting high on something whether its alcohol, marijuana, licking toads, or whatever and mankind is going to keep getting high. All criminalizing them does is make cartels rich and push people into other drugs like Spice. Lets save the money we spend on enforcement and imprisonment and instead spend it on education and rehab.

Question, is legalizing medical marijuana going to make it onto the November Ballot in Idaho. There seemed to be a big push that way this past spring. Has anyone heard or been following the progress of this issue?

Alice,

I wouldn’t risk it.

Country Corner on 1st St. sells about a half a dozen varieties of spice and I’ve tried them all. I like the blueberry mamba but the blindman variety is the best. It gives you a high exactly like marijuana and I’ve had no bad reactions to this product. I think it’s a great legal alternative to marijuana and like that it wont show up on any drug test. Like alcohol or any other drug, moderation is key and I’ll continue to purchase this product until they ban it.
I’m all for the legalization of marijuana but I don’t see it happening in such a conservative state. At 53 I’ve delt with arthritis pain for the past ten plus years and before moving here from Colorado, I was able to legally consume marijuana to help with my pain. I don’t drink alcohol or take prescription drugs so having this marijuana substitute available has been a great alternative to help deal with my pain.
Whether you use it as a recreational drug or other use, I think it’s great this product is available. It’s less harmful than alcohol and prescription drugs, but like anything else that alters your state of mind, it’s going to get a bad rap. Give it a try, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Spice girl.

Plus that article states that you have to be over 18 to buy the products which is also NOT true! Anyone can buy “insense”

Actually you do have to be over 18 to buy spice. Not only do they ask for your license to check your birthdate but they also write down your license number. i’m not sure why but thats big brother for you.
Anyone that has spent any amount of time in GNC can tell you there are a number of so called “supplements” that can also give you a buzz. But the companies that make these products call them supplements to get around the rules and regulations of the FDA. The thing is, nobody gives them a second thought since they are sold in whats considered a health/vitamin store.

Go to my website, It will explain Everything. I Nicely covered everything to make it legal to sell, If I sold Strong Paint for people to huff…. wouldnt I become the best Paint huff supplier? I would never recomend it But Im more agreeing with how if people want to get high they will do it legal or not….. It Is helping keep people out of jail in my town….. famlies our staying whole….

According to a few articles, Spice seems to be more dangerous than marijuana itself. JWH-018 is a full CB-receptor agonist whereas THC is only a partial. It causes more intense reactions than THC, including seizures, due to it’s increased efficiency at blocking GABA neurotransmitters. Density of CB receptors also increase faster with JWH compounds than with THC (faster desensitization and increased risk for addiction).

Never tried either, although I’m not opposed to either as well. Just throwing some facts out there.

Something else I’m hearing with more frequency is that, because it’s legal, people are smoking a lot more of this, sitting around all day doing nothing but smoking Spice.

I’m hearing this from people who are genuinely worried about family members and what affect this will have on them.

I know, I know… people would be doing the same thing with pot, but we pretty much know what sitting at home all day smoking pot will do. We don’t know what sitting around all day doing nothing but smoking Spice will do.

Spice is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Country Corner is my new favorite store. It is so frustrating to have to deal with scumbags and commit misdemeanors to obtain marijuana, but why on earth would any one ever buy marijuana again? Spice has similar effects to marijuana, but they don’t last as long and there isn’t as much drowsiness, and no paranoia. Because of spice, instead of having to commit a crime, I can just go down to Country Corner and get it. I pray that the legislature will see what a great opportunity for Tax Revenue this is.

Bonneville County sheriff’s detective Mike Dickson told the Post Register that users are smoking it for a high that doesn’t show up on drug tests. This is not true. It is easy to test for the drug, by checking for the unique metabolites created after the body dissolves the chemical in the blood stream. It is just that a positive test is meaningless because the chemical (1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole) is not listed as a controlled substance. It would be like drug testing someone for aspirin.

He also says the agency has arrested suspects who exhibit behavior similar to that of marijuana users. I hope he is exaggerating because arresting someone for smoking spice is assinine. If you add up the price of the judge’s time, the bailiff’s time prosecutor’s time, the public defender’s time, the officers’ time, the cost for the Idaho State Police testing then price of arresting a spice user runs literally into the thousands of dollars- and for what? Because someone generated tax revenue, provided a job to an Idahoan working at a gas station? This is a great opportunity to relieve the terrible burden that marijuana related misdemeanors place on the judicial system.

I have been personally using spice for weeks and have stopped drinking completely. I feel much better without the alcohol and report no ill effects except a smoker’s cough.

I was recently confronted by a Bonneville County Sheriff’s officer while smoking spice on my porch.

Apparently I was exhibiting some behavior similar to that of marijuana users. I was sitting there quietly drinking a pop and surfing the web. The humanity.

The officer told me that there had been reports of marijuana use in the area and he suspected that they were referring to my hand rolled spice cigarette. I told him I was smoking mint leaves, which was true, and apologized for bothering the neighbors. The officer was courteous and professional, and did not see fit to arrest me or press charges.

I am glad that we have the Sheriff’s office here to keep us safe. I am also glad I can now something I really enjoy without breaking the law.

It is true to say that marijuana is safer but that is not to say spice is dangerous. This is why. First, we have to understand the brain a little. In the human brain, there are little nerve ending poking out into the blood stream everywhere. When certain chemicals are introduced to the blood stream, they “tickle” these nerve endings. This is a gross over simplification, but fine for our purposes here. The active chemicals in marijuana and spice act on the brain’s CB1 and CB2 receptors, that is to say they tickle these little nerve endings and make a person feel good. Normally, the body produces natural chemicals to stimulate these receptors. But sometimes, as any smoker, drinker or pharmacutical user will tell you, it is just plain old fun to introduce chemicals into the blood stream that stimulate these brain receptors. (Nicotine actually reprograms the receptors to make you want more nicotine- not a good thing.) Dangerous drugs, especially opiates, tickle parts of the brain that are dangerous to mess with…if someone’s receptor sites are overwhelmed by heroine or oxycontin the body will stop breathing and the user will die. In contrast, it is not a huge deal to poke around at the Brain’s CB1 and CB2 receptor sites, the way pot and spice do. However, the TetraHydroCannibinol in pot only acts as a partial agonist on the receptors. This means that it would be nearly impossible to ingest a fatal dose. The synthetic cannibinoids in spice ((1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole) and others) act as full agonists which makes overwhelming the receptors a possibility, though unlikely. There are reports of this happening, usually resulting in vomiting, anxiety and loss of consciousness. (Just like tequila but without the hangover.) Unlike the partial agonist THC, it is possible to consume a fatal dose of the full agonist (1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole). To be fair though it is also possible to consume a fatal dose of aspirin…or nicotine…or Pine-Sol.

I think the real lesson here is that it is an extremely bad idea to use spice and alcohol at the same time.

Neither Marijuana or spice have the deleterious effects of cigarettes. It is not healthy to smoke any organic substance, such as the inert herbs in spice. However, it is still “healthier” than cigarette smoke because the nicotine, arsenic and other dangerous carcinogens that occur naturally in tobacco are not present.

It is unhealthy to introduce anything into the body to alter brain chemistry…but compared to the horrifying side effects of booze, tobacco and that poison they hand out at the pharmacy all day, I think spice is my new vice of choice.

As far as the damage

It does work in food or tea.

the healthiest way to escape reality and probably much cheaper and legal is getting a massage. Makes you feel much better

http://journalnet.com/news/local/article_9656a438-b58b-11df-94a8-001cc4c002e0.html

So Bingham county is looking at an ordinance for spice – wonder if this will set a precedence for other counties. I’ll stick with a glass of Chardonnay myself….

I feel pretty compelled to clarify that what Mark said about ingesting 3-5 grams of spice..that would be a very bad idea. For people who have not developed a resistance to spice, when they smoke it, they should only take one or two puffs of it and wait 5 minutes for a reaction. The stories about people having severe anxiety and raised blood pressure and what-not are because of people who roll up a blunt or a giant bowl and smoke the whole thing without waiting. Smoking too much at one time can make you have a terrible experience until you vomit a few times and take a nap. Also, drinking alcohol and using spice will cause a nasty headache the following day that would rival most any typical hangover. But to use it in a tea or food…I would say that more than 1/2 a gram would be serious overkill. And the JWH-018 itself, which is generally the active ingredient of most spice/herbal incense products is quite dangerous on it’s own in quantity. The people who make the incense generally use approximately 3 grams of JWH per 100 grams of herbs, so please please please be careful when you suggest dosages or quantities for people. Everyone is different, and some herbal incenses contain more or less JWH than others. I’m not saying it’s a terrible dangerous thing…I know many people who use it and never have a problem with it. But I am saying if you try different brands, or want to experiment with ingestion of the incense in any way…start very small and work your way up.

Sean F- Why would you post online that you are using alcohol and spice while you are on probation? That is just bad mojo for everyone. If you have “a pretty bad habit” I don’t think spice is for you. Drug tests that show spice are now readily available and using spice while on probation is not allowed. But seriously dude, if you are having legal problems maybe you should just straighten up and fly right for a few years and not smoke anything. Your comment about spice makes everyone who is doing what they are supposed to look bad.