Synthetic Cannabinoids

Synthetic Cannabinoids represent a dangerous category of psychoactive drugs that are gaining traction in the community. They are synthetic drugs lacking THC, cannabis or marijuana. Synthetic Cannabinoids are manufactured in unregulated chemical laboratories in China and India and then sprayed onto an assortment of readily available plants, herbs and grasses.

The only connection between Synthetic Cannabinoids and the plant Cannabis sativa involves the cannabis receptor where both are active. Unlike natural cannabis which mildly stimulates the receptor, the Synthetic Cannabinoids fully engage the receptor and lead to unpredictable and often undesired results.

The craze involving Synthetic Cannabinoids began in London in 2005 and rapidly gained popularity around the world peaking in 2011 before falling into some degree of disfavor until rebounding in 2016. Known as K2, Spice, synthetic marijuana, black mamba and a variety of names this relatively inexpensive product regularly appears as a common adulterant found in “marijuana” sold by drug dealers.

Increasingly Synthetic Cannabinoids are substituted for marijuana and smoked as cigarettes or vaped in Juul or similar devices. Synthetic Cannabinoids cannot be detected by even sophisticated drug tests and appear linked to the recent epidemic of vaping related illnesses and death.

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