By Isidro Camacho
The Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office witnessed a handful of cases involving synthetic marijuana last year and anticipates seeing more cases this year. This drug poses serious health risks and legal consequences to users.
Investigator Lt. Tony McFaddin recalled that his force dealt with about four or five cases in the last year involving “Spice” and “K2,” which are other names for synthetic marijuana.
Those two names come from the two most popular brands of synthetic marijuana, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Spice can go by nearly 500 different names, all of which are listed on the Spice Addiction Support’s website. It is available in a form that can smoked, which is called herbal incense. There are also forms of spice created for smoking out of a vaporizer, which is known as liquid incense.
Nearly a year ago, people could buy synthetic marijuana in gas stations or in convenience stores. Brands like spice and K2 appealed to users by claiming that their products identically reproduced the mind-altering effects of marijuana.
Spice is created by spraying a mix of chemicals onto organic material like dried plants or chopped up herbs. The chemical spray contains a mix of one or more synthetic cannabinoids. This is the psychoactive ingredient in spice that mimics the effects of marijuana.
Regular marijuana contains natural cannabinoids, called tetrahydrocannabinol, which is more commonly known as THC. This chemical is produced organically by the plant as it matures.
The cannabinoids found in spice, however, are produced in laboratories. Both synthetic and natural cannabinoids affect the same receptor in the brain. Synthetic cannabinoids affect those receptors more strongly than the cannabinoids found in regular marijuana. The effects of spice on the brain are also more unpredictable, according to the NIDA.
Synthetic marijuana is a Schedule 1 drug, the same class as heroin and cocaine. Schedule 1 drugs are highly addictive and offer no medical purpose, according to Greg Gardner of the Rockbridge Regional Drug Task Force. Regular marijuana, however, is a Schedule 2 drug. Convictions surrounding marijuana are much less severe.
McFaddin explained that individuals found with spice are prosecuted to “to a different level than marijuana–one that is much higher.”
In Virginia, Code 18.2-250 prosecutes individuals who possess a controlled substance. Certain chemical blends of spice are deemed illegal under this code, but not all of them. The Virginia General Assembly is unable to outright prohibit all of the various synthetic cannabinoids that exist, according to Gardner.
It can only strike down known combinations of these chemicals as they appear. Eliminating spice from reaching the general public is a cat and mouse game between spice producers and members of the General Assembly.
That is why one can legally buy Blunt Effects® Incense and Concentrated Airfreshener at Stop-In on Main Street in Lexington. It is also legal to buy and sell new brands of spice on the Internet.
If a new brand of spice enters the market with a completely different combination of chemicals, “there is nothing in the code of Virginia that makes it illegal,” McFaddin said.
As soon as the General Assembly strikes one chemical mix of spice down, producers of the drug are free to move on to another recipe.
This synthetic chemical family contains hundreds of different chemical compounds, according to McFaddin.
Deaths related to spice consumption are rising nationwide, according to NIDA.
Doctors at Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital have yet to see a case of spice overdose, but they are prepared nonetheless. Karen Lafond, director of emergency services at the hospital, said that they are aware of the drug and its dangerous effects.
Spice has been linked to symptoms of psychosis, according to NIDA. There have been several reported cases of users suffering from extreme anxiety, paranoia and hallucinations.
Gardner recalled a 45-year-old spice user in Buena Vista who was apprehended in an undercover operation last year.
After attempting to sell spice to an informant, Gardner explained that the man quickly confessed to the mental state in which the drug had put him. He told the force that he “experienced hallucinations” and was horribly addicted.
“He told us it was the worst thing he’d ever done,” Gardner said.
Gardner also warned of the drug’s potential appeal to lower-income individuals.
“It’s not very expensive,” he said.
McFaddin mentioned that another danger of this drug is its close resemblance to regular marijuana. Producers of spice use organic materials that look nearly identical to the green, leafy appearance of regular marijuana.