K2 & Spice: If You Smoke It You Need To Know This

If you are a K2 or Spice smoker or thinking about smoking it, there are some steps that you need to take immediately to prevent the terrifying side-effects that many have experienced and may have been involved in one teen's death. Perhaps the most important facts you need to know from the beginning is that K2/Spice/JWH-018 is not intended for human consumption and never been tested on humans and K2/Spice/JWH-018 is three to five times stronger than marijuana, so it takes a less amount to achieve a good high. This is perhaps some of the most important information to never forget.

1. Do you have the real thing or is it a designer product? Users and websites have reported that there are fake K2 sites and home made or designer K2 being distributed using forged packaging that looks just like the real deal. It is hard to tell, but there are certain things that you can look for to avoid buying something you do not want. For instance, look at the ingredients and location of where it was produced.

One site that you can check for a list of fake K2 websites unless you're buying from a verified source is k2-incense.com and you can verify through K2Verified.org if whether the product you're getting does not come from the original K2 manufacturer. Here you can see a growing list of counterfeit sites.

2. If you are ready to smoke, puff - wait 5 to 10 minutes, then take a second puff and wait 5 to 10 minutes again. Users have reported that 2 to 3 puffs or "hits" is all you will need to get a "good high". Realize the strength of K2/Spice/JWH-018 is 3 to 5 times stronger than marijuana, so if you smoke it like a joint, you are smoking too much and may be in for one scary adventure. Remember, do not approach it like you know it, treat it like a stranger and be cautious.

3. Know what you probably can expect to experience so that you are not going in totally blind, and then expect the unexpected. The following is not the complete or confirmed listing of all of K2's negative side-effects, but are the most commonly reported by alleged users in comment sections of many of the articles researched..

Negative Side effects may include:

Here are the most common effects that I noticed by what the commenter said happen after using K2. First the negative: almost immediately there were severe headaches lasting anywhere from approximately two hours to about 10 days, sometimes much longer. The headaches were accompanied with nausea lasting at least two hours, experiencing blackouts, flashbacks like what PCP users experience, severe paranoia to the point of total panic, and an extreme high lasting for over two hours, sometimes over 24 hours. Also observed were clammy, sweaty skin, a pale appearance, increased heart rate, depression, psychotic episodes, anxiety, an "I'm going to die" feeling, erratic breathing, severely impaired vision, twitches, convulsions, shakes, seizures, tremors, blood pressure bottoming out, sheer terror, dizziness, delayed reactions to surroundings, mind wandering, vomiting, profound sweating, sleepiness, disorientation, high blood pressure, severe hallucinations, confusion, claustiphobia, short-term memory loss and severe agitation. As you can see, this list has some life threatening side effects, and the list is going to continue to grow.

Reported Positive Side-Effects

Many stated they believe that K2 is the perfect substitute for the illegal marijuana that is so widely used. The best compromise would be to replace K2 with the natural herb, marijuana, by making it legal to possess, use, purchase or barter. The majority has concluded that marijuana is the lesser of the two evils because its effects are not as dangerous as those present with K2.

The users proclaim that they have not run into any adverse problems because they go in smoking a lesser amount K2 compared to using marijuana. A person can get an enjoyable high if they smoke K2 in moderation instead of jumping off a tall building or bridge knowing that you would be safer if you 1. Were able to fly or 2. Were close enough to the ground or water when you leapt so as not to be fatal. On the average taking about one to three puffs (hits) of K2 will give you the same level of intoxication as in smoking at minimum a whole joint. You know the saying, ". . . puff, puff, and give".

The high feeling from K2 comes a lot faster than marijuana, by being felt almost immediately, where as marijuana's is delayed because it has to penetrate the lungs, to get into your blood. Everyone is claiming to not having an adverse experience, but a mild chilling feeling, and smoked a minimum amount because they did not know how they would be affected.

4. There is no official study or report that can tell you everything about K2/Spice/JWH-018 and this reason alone, makes consuming it dangerous. Before long K2/Spice will be banned in perhaps every state, probably to go underground until a study is conducted, but a study takes time.

These are the four most important pieces of information that I feel should be disseminated as expediently as possible. Keep in mind that this is a compilation of information derived from alleged users. None of this information is from personal experience, for I do not condone drug usage, but I do feel that for safety purposes this information is the minimum amount of knowledge needed to hopefully prevent someone from being killed.

K2 Contributes To Teen's Suicide

Article first published as Death Validates Dangers of Synthetic Marijuana on Blogcritics.

On June 6, 2010, Indianola, Iowa, teen, David Rozga, 18, committed suicide after having a panic attack attributed to smoking K2 with his friends. After consumption, he told them that he was going to hell then went home where he shot and killed himself. His parents and the police place the blame for his actions on K2, because according to David’s parents, this was out of character.

This is the first death reported that might be directly linked to consuming K2, and has prompted the Governor to issue a statewide warning about its use and potential dangers. Iowa lawmakers are also looking at how they can ban K2, following the steps of the increasing number of municipalities and states that have done so all ready.

People that have smoked the synthetic marijuana have reported such side effects as deep depression, hallucinations, feelings of “I am going to die”, and severe panic attacks, which may be what, drove David Rozga to kill himself.

There has always been the danger of using an untested substitute and assuming that it will respond the same as the substance that it is supposed to imitate. Marijuana causes a phobia that users appear to enjoy, and depending on its grade, the quantity it takes to achieve the desired level of intoxication varies from person to person. The same holds true for using K2 whose potency is 3 to 5 times stronger than marijuana warranting a less amount consumption and new users do not know this. They just assume that smoking the same amount of K2 that they smoke of cannabis the results will be the same.

One of his friends bought the K2 in Des Moines, since no store in Indianola sells it, and shared it with him. They consumed it together, but David was the only one to react so negatively. The purchase price for 3 grams of K2 typically is around the same amount as marijuana, but is legal to possess, not detectable by current tests, apparently has no age restriction and use will probably continue to rise nationally as the banning of K2 continues to spread.

The sad reality of prevention is that most people have not heard of K2 until incidents, as David’s becomes public knowledge or passed on by word of mouth. This incident should prove that not just for public safety, but also for the importance of educating the public on K2 usage, someone should take the time to conduct a study.

Synthetic Marijuana Sales Soar As Demand Rise

Article first published as Synthetic Marijuana Sales Soar As Demand Rise on Blogcritics.

Spice and K2 users are grabbing this product off the shelf so fast that some stores are claiming on Fridays they pulled in $10,000 in Spice sales alone. This rise can be contributed to states rushing to have it banned and a user rushing to hoard the product before it is banned in their area.


The number of states that have either banned synthetic pot or has lawmakers working on bans is increasing as Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed a state ban last week. Just as with alcohol and other items that have been prohibited by law in the past, is K2, Spice and related substances going to go underground? Right now spice and other K2 products can be legally purchased mainly online and head shops.

Capitol Hemp owner Adam Eidinger said that in the 18 months he has been stocking spice, the demand has doubled every month now making up a third of his revenue. If other spice retailers are experiencing this same effect on their sales, what is going to happen when it becomes prohibited in every state?

The debate over the use of K2, spice has been getting stronger as lawmakers react to not only the cries of their constituents, but to the lack of data or official study on the effects of its use. Other than what is reported by retailers and spice customers, there has been no official report on the number of its users.

There has been an increased in the number of calls to poison centers across the nation concerning spice. Across 41 states the American Association of Poison Control Centers has logged over 500 cases of bad reaction to spice for the first half of 2010 and only 13 cases for 2009.

Arkansas Board of Health recently placed K2 and all of its derivatives on its banned substance list in an emergency order signed by Arkansas Governor Beebe. Kansas was the first state to outlaw the products in March 2010 followed by Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Arkansas with other lawmakers working on bans in their states.

Arkansas County's K2 Ban Lands First Arrest

Article first published as Arkansas To Conduct Study On K2 Effects on Blogcritics.

Across the nation, city, county and state officials are taking action to deter the use of K2, which is referred to as a synthetic marijuana, and produces a marijuana-like high to those who consume it.

Arkansas cities (Alpena, Greenwood, Ozark, Paris and Springdale) along with Benton, Crawford and Sebastian counties have joined the ranks of Kansas, Missouri and a number of nations which have banned the substance. K2 presently is not classified as an illegal drug, making it legal to purchase, possess and use in most areas internationally, and thus leaving the lower level governments to take protective measures for their citizens. Most are doing this by adding an emergency clause to the proposed ordinance banning K2, allowing it to take effective immediately once the ban is passed.

Spice, aka K2, has been made illegal to possess, purchase or use in the following nations: Austria, Chile, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. This shows the need to control K2 in the world marketplace.

Manufactured in Asia and sold online or in local stores, K2 and similar substances are marketed as herbal incense. A disclaimer on a K2-selling web site reads: "K2 Herbal products are novelty incenses and are not for consumption."

Unlike most drugs, there is no way to detect its use in a person, making concerns over its dangers even greater, with effects that appear to be much stronger than marijuana, three to five times more potent, making it a major a threat to communities. In the United States, hospitalization cases have been reported in Florida, Maine and Arkansas, in addition to St. Louis, Springfield and Kansas City.

The psychoactive drug can cause users to experience rapidly increased heart rates, loss of consciousness, paranoia and, occasionally, psychotic episodes. One hospitalized user claimed that he could see his heart beating out of his chest. Individuals react differently to the drug.

Since the ban has been in place, one K2-related arrest has been made in the Arkansas county of Crawford. It seems that the police were notified of a possible drug transaction in the parking lot of one of the city's malls. As one vehicle was departing, one of the arriving officers noticed a traffic violation, giving cause to conduct a traffic stop.

The officers found an unopened package of K2 in the driver's glove compartment. There was no indication that the driver or his juvenile passenger had used the substance. They each now face a fine of up to $1000 and/or confinement for up to a year.

Sold in various flavors in 3-gram bags, the product consists of herbs that are sprayed with synthetic substances that mimic THC, the high-causing natural chemical found in marijuana. Laboratories have found that K2/Spice contains large amounts of synthetic tocopherol, which is not listed as one of its active ingredients.

Until the U.S. Drug Administration places the ingredient, JW-018, on its scheduling, K2 or Spice will continue to be sold legally by public retailers and on the internet.