Spice: The big issue
According to a recent survey conducted by The Utah Statesman, of 391 Utah State University students, 12 percent have used spice.
With few exceptions, the numbers of this poll closely match those of the most recent USU Health and Wellness Survey (Fall 2009). Most of those exceptions could be explained through polling demographics and standard error rates. The statistic on spice has no measure for comparison, as this drug was not on the radar one year ago.
In addition to the findings, the survey prompted questions from students. The most asked question was “What is spice?” Several entertaining theories referencing Frank Herbert’s 1965 classic novel “Dune” were proffered, but this article is an attempt to compile the most accurate account and supply the information to satisfy the students’ questions.
What is spice?
Spice, Black Mamba, and K2 are just a few of the names of the product being sold at smoke shops. They are labeled “incense: not intended for human consumption.” It is a dried plant-based product which has been incorporated with synthetic THC – the component of marijuana that produces a “high.”
John Huffman is an organic chemist at Clemson University who developed the synthetic drug with his team at their lab at the North Carolina university.
Huffman said: “Some of these products have been found to contain synthetic cannabinoid compounds JWH-018 and JWH-073, which were first developed in my laboratory more than 10 years ago in research funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) … These compounds were not meant for human consumption. Their effects in humans have not been studied and they could very well have toxic effects. They absolutely should not be used as recreational drugs.”
Readers may note the irony of NIDA’s involvement in the creation of a substance with such a high potential for abuse. And yet, Huffman said the potential merit of greater understanding of the human body and its processes that these compounds afford could be invaluable.
“Cannabinoids include THC – the active ingredient in cannabis plants – but also other substances that interact with the cannabinoid receptors in the brain and other organs,” he said. “These receptors don’t exist so that people can smoke marijuana and get high; they play a role in regulating appetite, nausea, mood, pain and inflammation. They may be involved in the development of conditions such as osteoporosis, liver disease and some kinds of cancer. Synthetic cannabinoids can help us understand these interactions, and ultimately this knowledge may contribute to the development of new therapies.”
What are the effects of smoking spice?
Obviously, the effects in humans warrant more study. Dr. Jim Davis, executive director of USU’s Student Health Services, said he has seen enough cases to be able to describe the common effects that he has seen in the emergency room.
“On the first day of school, I made it until 4:30 p.m. before I saw my first patient presenting with spice related problems,” Davis said.
He compared the side effects of taking spice versus marijuana, which typically causes hunger and mellowing or reduction in anxiety and agitation, or a “high” feeling.
“Synthetic THC has those same side affects but they also produce side effects that are very similar to ‘uppers,’ such as crystal meth, crack, cocaine and PCP,” Davis said. “What you see is someone who gets a high, but the high lasts only a short amount of time. Because of the nature of the medication, it doesn’t give a high for the same length of time so then people tend to re-dose.”
But at the same time, Davis said, they are rapidly increasing those additional “upper” effects, even at a greater rate.
“You get the adrenaline boost when you have to run a race or are getting psyched up for something,” he said, “but you also get an adrenaline boost from certain medications, like caffeine. So will cocaine, crystal meth and these synthetic THCs, unlike the THC found in marijuana. But because you re-dose you get this tremendous release of adrenaline-like substances in your body.”
A 34-year-old grad student in education, who asked to remain anonymous, said she quit using spice when she had a bad reaction to smoking it.
“My heart was racing; I thought I might be having a heart attack,” she said. “I also became extremely paranoid. I felt so lucky that I came down and feel fine. That never happened to me when I smoked marijuana.”
The student said she decided to try spice when she found out that she could buy it at a local store and that it appeared to be legal.
“I really enjoy marijuana, but I hate that it is illegal,” she said. “So when I heard about this new stuff that works just as good, I thought why not? The first couple of times I tried it was fine, I liked it, but then I had that overreaction and it scared me.”
Her reaction typifies experiences that Davis said he has seen.
“In addition to just the hyped-up vital signs, you also get a psychosis, disordered thinking,” Davis said. “People hear things, see things, they become agitated and aggressive and they have to be held down and they have to be suppressed. I have seen people on spice tased, because they were out of control. And so you get this psychosis that occurs with it that you don’t typically get with regular THC.”
Davis said death has been reported from spice.
“Even though people say ‘No. It’s a safe drug. It’s natural.’ This is not true,” Davis said.
An undeclared sophomore, 20, said he disagrees that spice is harmful.
“I have been using spice for over six months, and been in the presence of others using it and have never seen any ill effects,” he said.
On top of all of the negative symptoms Davis said spice is “highly addictive, “and said that because the drug is new, the possible long-term effects are not yet known.
Another commonly-cited concern is that the drug can be manufactured in any lab with easily gathered ingredients and no regulation.
Davis said, “You can’t count on one batch being the same as another, even from the same manufacturer. They are unregulated, uncontrolled and therefore unsafe.”
Consumers may be lulled into a false sense of safeness as the product they are using looks like and seems like an organic substance. Many users had no idea that spice was a chemical sprayed onto a dried herb.
“If I would have known that it was something other than a natural plant, I would never have tried it at all,” the anonymous graduate student said.
The 20-year-old student said he uses spice as well as marijuana and alcohol to relax on occasion.
“I don’t use it all of the time, maybe a couple of times a month. I think like any other substance, if you handle it responsibly, you should be able to use it,” he said.
– tam.r@aggiemail.usu.edu