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Spice is slang for synthetic cannabinoids sprayed on some herb. The fact that it's classed in a group with codeine and cannabis is bizarre. These drugs are fuck

Spice is slang for synthetic cannabinoids sprayed on some herb. The fact that it's classed in a group with codeine and cannabis is bizarre. These drugs are fucking dangerous. Possible effects include stroke, acute kidney failure, acute psychosis, psychological trauma. They gave me a transient ischaemic attack at the age of 21. Seriously. No permanent damage though, I was extremely lucky. My kidney function was in the gutter too but they bounced back. A friend of mine permanently lost his mind from it. Now he sits in his room all day muttering strange phrases and drooling from the clozapine they have him on. Why did I do this? I was forced to do drug tests for cannabis more or less against my will(under duress). And I was a stupid kid who wanted to get high, and these horrible drugs were easily available, advertised as not showing up on tests, etc. I have the chief responsibility for my own actions of course, but it's hard to ignore the fact that none of it would've happened if not for an extremely draconian and outmoded approach to drugs.

simonswords82 4y ago
Good job they stopped you from taking that pesky cannabis /s Seriously though that's awful, sorry to hear that and glad you came out the other side (relatively) unharmed.
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MagicMoonlight 4y ago
Spice is incredibly harmful and it’s just a stronger version of cannabis. It’s therefore reasonable to consider that cannabis may be harmful in the same way, just less obviously so.
- bitcoin_anon 4y ago
  Spice contains novel cannabanoids (and probably residual chemicals) so it is a different beast altogether. Cannabis concentrates, e.g. dabs, rosin, BHO are stronger versions of cannabis.
- Apocryphon 4y ago
  In the same way beer and wine is less obviously harmful than wood alcohol, sure.
- mozey 4y ago
  Whisky can be incredible harmful and it's just a stronger version of wine... difference is the label clearly states the percentage alcohol
- tikhonj 4y ago
  ≈everything is toxic in sufficient quantity or density, from obviously harmful substances like caffeine (powdered caffeine can easily be fatal!) to water.
- ehvatum 4y ago
  Benzoylindole, the active ingredient in most “Spice” products, is not found in cannabis and its metabolites are toxic as hell.
- mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y ago
  It's reasonable to consider, absolutely. But once you do, and consider the pharmacology in particular, you'll find that it mostly isn't. Cannabinoids including THC can induce anxiety. Synthetic cannabinoids can easily induce psychosis, THC can do so much more rarely. But that's about where the overlap ends. There are many reasons for this. The main one is that synthetic cannabinoids tend to be full agonists at both the CB1 and CB2 receptors, whereas THC is a partial agonist. This means that there are effects that synthetics can do that THC simply can't. In addition, they're much, much more potent; some such compounds have active doses in the 100mcg range. Cannabis also contains other compounds that counteract some downstream effects of THC most notably CBD, but also CBG. Weed is not going to box your kidneys. CB2 is heavily expressed in kidney tissues, and extremely potent full agonist activity at CB2 is probably why they're so nephrotoxic. THC simply just isn't potent enough in doses that can be reasonably consumed. Synth noids are also extremely vasoconstrictive and this is how they can cause strokes. They have vasoconstriction comparable to meth, moreishness comparable to crack, and immobilising effcts comparable to heroin. So what ends up happening is you binge. Hard. Maybe for weeks, all while remaining mostly immobile between doses. All while pumping your system full of vasoconstrictors. Weed on the other hand can be vasoconstrictive or vasodilating, depending on the relative content of the various plant cannabinoids. And it's nowhere near as vasoconstrictive as synth noids. It is probably the case that extremely heavy cannabis use can cause enough immobility over time to increase risk of stroke. But it would take years and years, not days.
karp773 4y ago
> outmoded approach to drugs. Drugs are illegal for a good reason. What did you expect? Your friend lost his mind, you narrowly escaped death and you blame the government for making this substance illegal? Correct?
- mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y ago
  Incorrect. These drugs were legal at the time. I blame myself for my own actions(but it was almost a decade ago and I have moved on, which is why I'm comfortable being open about it), but blame is not always singular. The state is also partially to blame because they banned all the good drugs, leading to grey markets with dangerous, untested, experimental drugs. As for my friend, I had nothing to do with what happened to him, I only met him after the fact.

simonswords82 4y ago

Good job they stopped you from taking that pesky cannabis /s Seriously though that's awful, sorry to hear that and glad you came out the other side (relatively) unharmed.

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MagicMoonlight 4y ago

Spice is incredibly harmful and it’s just a stronger version of cannabis. It’s therefore reasonable to consider that cannabis may be harmful in the same way, just less obviously so.

bitcoin_anon 4y ago
Spice contains novel cannabanoids (and probably residual chemicals) so it is a different beast altogether. Cannabis concentrates, e.g. dabs, rosin, BHO are stronger versions of cannabis.
Apocryphon 4y ago
In the same way beer and wine is less obviously harmful than wood alcohol, sure.
mozey 4y ago
Whisky can be incredible harmful and it's just a stronger version of wine... difference is the label clearly states the percentage alcohol
tikhonj 4y ago
≈everything is toxic in sufficient quantity or density, from obviously harmful substances like caffeine (powdered caffeine can easily be fatal!) to water.
ehvatum 4y ago
Benzoylindole, the active ingredient in most “Spice” products, is not found in cannabis and its metabolites are toxic as hell.
mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y ago
It's reasonable to consider, absolutely. But once you do, and consider the pharmacology in particular, you'll find that it mostly isn't. Cannabinoids including THC can induce anxiety. Synthetic cannabinoids can easily induce psychosis, THC can do so much more rarely. But that's about where the overlap ends. There are many reasons for this. The main one is that synthetic cannabinoids tend to be full agonists at both the CB1 and CB2 receptors, whereas THC is a partial agonist. This means that there are effects that synthetics can do that THC simply can't. In addition, they're much, much more potent; some such compounds have active doses in the 100mcg range. Cannabis also contains other compounds that counteract some downstream effects of THC most notably CBD, but also CBG. Weed is not going to box your kidneys. CB2 is heavily expressed in kidney tissues, and extremely potent full agonist activity at CB2 is probably why they're so nephrotoxic. THC simply just isn't potent enough in doses that can be reasonably consumed. Synth noids are also extremely vasoconstrictive and this is how they can cause strokes. They have vasoconstriction comparable to meth, moreishness comparable to crack, and immobilising effcts comparable to heroin. So what ends up happening is you binge. Hard. Maybe for weeks, all while remaining mostly immobile between doses. All while pumping your system full of vasoconstrictors. Weed on the other hand can be vasoconstrictive or vasodilating, depending on the relative content of the various plant cannabinoids. And it's nowhere near as vasoconstrictive as synth noids. It is probably the case that extremely heavy cannabis use can cause enough immobility over time to increase risk of stroke. But it would take years and years, not days.

karp773 4y ago

> outmoded approach to drugs. Drugs are illegal for a good reason. What did you expect? Your friend lost his mind, you narrowly escaped death and you blame the government for making this substance illegal? Correct?

mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y ago
Incorrect. These drugs were legal at the time. I blame myself for my own actions(but it was almost a decade ago and I have moved on, which is why I'm comfortable being open about it), but blame is not always singular. The state is also partially to blame because they banned all the good drugs, leading to grey markets with dangerous, untested, experimental drugs. As for my friend, I had nothing to do with what happened to him, I only met him after the fact.