Editor,
As a lecturer for the psychology department and an instructor of the drugs and behavior class, I was pleased to read that a state senator is looking to regulate and outlaw “Spice” and similar products.
These products, including Spice and K-2, are billed as “herbal” and legal alternatives to marijuana. Although legal, the herbal components of these products are often not those listed on the package. German labs tested Spice and could not find the genetic “fingerprints” of the claimed botanical ingredients. What they did find was several synthetic cannabinoids.
Professor John W. Huffman, the inventor of many of the synthetic cannabinoids, said this about his own inventions: “People who use it are idiots. You don’t know what it’s going to do to you.”
Studies have reported users experienced withdrawal symptoms and even psychosis using these chemicals. In the United States, synthetic cannabinoid HU-210 is listed as a Schedule II drug, along with cocaine and codeine. However, other synthetic cannabinoids (JWH 073) remain unscheduled but are “drugs of interest,” according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
In Canada, all synthetic cannabinoids are the equivalent of US Schedule II controlled substances. Whether marijuana should be legalized to a greater degree than currently is a matter for debate at another time, but the legality of marijuana should not influence the regulation of potentially harmful and addictive substances like Spice and K-2.
And, for all you military readers of the Daily Lobo, be aware that possession, use, sale, distribution, etc., of synthetic cannabinoids is a violation of military law and places you in legal jeopardy.
The bottom line is, you don’t know what you’re buying since these products are unregulated. They should be banned as a matter of public safety.
Eric Jackson
UNM faculty
