There’s a new, legal drug that has become popular among teenagers. It’s called spice, or K2, and can be dangerous in any quantity.
This drug can have negative side effects such as anxiety attacks, hallucinations, nausea and cause a chemical dependency. However, it is being marketed as synthetic marijuana and the high is said to be similar to that of original cannabis, only much stronger.
Because it is compared to marijuana, teenagers continue to smoke it, thinking it is safe.
“I was sitting in this chair and everything looked like I was in a cartoon,” said one Penn Manor senior about her experience on a strain of spice called Bayou Blaster. “Everything had rainbow outlines, I couldn’t move and I felt really light headed.”
“It hits you like a brick wall,” said another Penn Manor senior. “I didn’t like it. I was just kind of on the floor, non-responsive.”
While these two high school students have had negative experiences with K2 and did not enjoy it, there are many people who do. Some are also completely aware of how dangerous it can be, but continue to use it.
“I like it. One time, I felt like my brain was being sawed into little squares,” said a Penn Manor junior.
“Yes, it is bad for you,” he said, acknowledging the dangers of the drug. “It probably puts holes in your brain and chemicals inside you that aren’t supposed to be there.”
So how can this be legal?
The drug is actually not being sold as a drug. It can be bought in many gas stations and tobacco stores as incense. It specifically says on the packages that it is not meant for human consumption when that is clearly its purpose.
Many states have tried to make K2 illegal but have failed to do so. The reason behind that is that as soon as the government makes one strain of spice illegal, the companies manufacturing it change the chemistry of it the tinniest bit so that it is once again legal.
With teenagers being drug tested at their jobs, by their parents and by schools, some people have turned to spice as an alternative to smoking marijuana.
“My mom drug tests me now,” said a junior at Penn Manor. “I smoked it occasionally before she started testing me.”
Although K2 is beginning to be viewed as an equally safe alternative to marijuana by many teens, this is simply untrue.
http://www.k2info.org { synthetic marijuana is bad news. | There has been a recent upturn in hospital visits involving synthetic marijuana. | synthetic marijuana is becoming a major problem in the US | k2 incense is really bad for you, people are getting sent to the hospital on a daily basis. | it would seem that the only way to stop synthetic marijuana would be to legalize and regulate the real thing. | k2 incense is dangerous| k2 incense and other synthetic marijuana products have some really nasty documented side effects|