If you’re wondering what is K2 or what is spice, the K2 drug is known as a synthetic marijuana or a fake weed alternative. A lot of people don’t know what this drug is, furthermore, they don’t know what makes it psychoactive with effects similar to cannabis. To be short, synthetic marijuana is composed of various research chemicals. The research chemical class of drugs are intended for research only and not for application on people or animals. They’re highly dangerous because we’re unaware of the short and long-term effects of these drugs. The research chemicals in fake weed alternatives have evolved overtime and have gotten worse.
What is K2? What is Spice? And What is in it? The K2 Drug AKA Synthetic Marijuana Demystified
The brand names most popular are K2 and spice. The drug originally started as Spice Gold and was various leaf matter laced with synthetic cannabinoids from the JWH class of research chemicals. The acronym “JWH” are the initials of John W. Huffman, a research chemist that synthesized 450 cannabinoids at Clemson University. His motive was to synthesize a drug that would have the medicinal properties of THC (the cannabinoid found in marijuana) without the recreational high. Of course, some of the cannabinoids he synthesized had a high very similar to THC and were used to create the K2 drug as a legal “fake weed” alternative that would pass drug test. The most similar to re-creating a synthetic marijuana high were JWH-018 and JWH-073. This loophole worked for a while until the government stepped in banning all cannabinoids using the analogue act. But why do we still see the K2 drug sold at head shops?
“Fake Weed” has Gotten Worse
The government stepping in to ban all cannabinoids didn’t stop companies from selling these alternatives. They resorted to continue their business by lacing leaf matter with research chemicals that weren’t cannabinoids thus bypassing the analogue act. So what’s in synthetic marijuana now? The fake weed you find today doesn’t contain the same active ingredients of the past. To tell you the truth, no one can be certain. It’s no different than walking in a lab, picking some random psychoactive chemicals off the ground, and proceeding to lace a product for human consumption. It will vary from one brand to the next. This is a serious threat to society as we have no idea the short and long-term consequences. We don’t know the LD50, organ toxicity, addictive potential, etc. At least before we knew what receptor sites the drug acted on, now we’re clueless. Because of this, the K2 drug is now one of the most dangerous substances available and all you have to do is be over 18 to obtain it. Stay away from this drug, we don’t know what is spice.
I hope this article gave you insight into what is K2 or what is spice, the K2 drug is known as a synthetic marijuana or a fake weed alternative. Below is a video from the author of this article, subscribe to his channel for video content!
Philip Markoff (Associate of Science) is an online influencer and thought leader on addiction education; he is known as his alias “CG Kid” who’s obtained a large audience primarily on YouTube as a vlogger and journalist. His current sobriety date from polysubstance chemical dependency is June 9th, 2013.