UK may ban designer ’synthetic cannabis’

A legal blend of herbs sold as incense under the name “Spice” may soon be illegal in the United Kingdom, as it reportedly contains a designer variety of synthetic cannabinoids which creates an effect some users say is similar to a marijuana high.

The former head of the UK Forensic Science Service’s drugs intelligence unit, Les King, told a conference yesterday that just months ago, “it was found that a smoking mixture known as Spice was not the innocuous material it purported to be. The claimed constituents, namely various herbs, were a Trojan horse,” reported The Guardian.

The so-called Trojan horse — a blend of baybean, blue lotus, dwarf skullcap, Indian warrior, lions tail, maconha brava, marshmallow, pink lotus, red clover, rose, Siberian motherwort, vanilla and honey — actually delivers a dose of JWH-018, a synthetic cannabinoid with a stronger psychoactive effect than THC, the active compound in marijuana.

Similarly, a shipment of 100 lbs. of Spice was seized by Drug Enforcement Agency officials at a DHL shipping center in Ohio in January of this year. Though Spice is legal in the United States, this particular shipment was tested and found to contain HU-210, a different synthetic cannabinoid that is much more potent than JWH-018, the effects of which make THC seem tame in comparison.

HU-210 is a Schedule 1 controlled substance in the United States. However, unlike every other drug of abuse except marijuana, it has been found to promote “neurogenesis”—regrowth of brain cells—in the embryonic and adult hippocampus, according to the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Its potential medical properties are still being studied.

The Guardian continued: “The ‘Trojan horse’ properties of Spice were identified only last December by the THC Pharma laboratory in Germany, which is developing medicinal cannabis as synthetic imitations of the plant’s active ingredients. Its research led to Germany and Austria banning Spice in January this year. France decided to take the same action in February.”

Cannabis Culture, a marijuana enthusiast magazine, adds: “Christian Steup, a medical doctor and pharmacist in charge of quality control at THC Pharm who supervised the analysis, told Chemistry World that he was able to detect JWH-018 while bigger labs failed because he had synthesized the substance about two years ago and all information was still on the company computer.

“The substance, which he said can be bought from producers in China, is added to the Spice herbal mixture. Quantities of JWH-018 in Spice packets tested varied widely, from as little as 0.2 per cent of the total mixture to as much as 3 per cent, Steup says.”

“Spice may be legal, but does it offer the same effect?” asked Financial Times reporter Andrew Jack in February. “According to some Internet forums, yes. As long ago as September 2006—an eternity in the twilight zone of new recreational drugs—a user named ‘Mexican Seafood’ posted this message on the bluelight site, which specializes in drug discussions: ‘So, an old friend of mine told me that he and some of my other friends have been buying this stuff called Spice, which is a legal smoking herb blend. He said he only had a little bit, and he found the high pretty impressive, and several other friends I know and trust swear by it.’”

Jack’s report continued: “The anonymous recommendations—whether genuine or fabricated by those with a commercial interest—have spiraled since. Last December, on The Vaults of Erowid site, ‘Ottomatic’ wrote, presumably while inhaling: ‘I hit it once, felt a head change. After the second hit i deffinately [sic] felt something reminsicent of a weed high. 10 minutes and a third hit later, i was stoned. Not 100% like good old pot but damn close. Lethargic, red-eyed, and i got the munchies. What more could i ask for. I will smoke this product untill THE MAN makes it illegal.’”

While the legal product may produce a high, there are reported side effects. Doctors reported in a Dutch medical journal that the frequent use of Spice Gold, one of several varieties available, produced powerful withdrawal symptoms in one patient.

Those symptoms included: “[Internal] unrest, tremor, palpitations, headache, nausea, vomiting, depression and desperation. These symptoms had abruptly disappeared when he started consuming Spice once again. He suffered similar symptoms during drug withdrawal in hospital.”

The doctors continued: “The authors interpret the symptoms as indicating a typical withdrawal disease, very probably due to the admixture of synthetic cannabinomimetics.”

Should the United Kingdom choose to make Spice illegal, it would join 10 other countries which have effectively banned or made the blend outright illegal.

Further reading: Vaults of Erowid research.

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