New drug worry in Phila.: synthetic marijuana - 2/20/10

[Quietus]

New drug worry in Phila.: synthetic marijuana
By Peter Mucha
Inquirer Staff Writer

Federal agents are cracking down on imports of a synthetic marijuana that has started appearing in the Philadelphia area.

It is not illegal in any state to possess the substance, but Food and Drug Administration regulations bar its import and sale because it is not a tested and approved drug.

Eighty-five parcels arriving from Amsterdam at a UPS facility at Philadelphia International Airport were detained and then seized after tests proved positive for the drug, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The latest seizures were Tuesday after a CBP lab in Georgia confirmed that two parcels discovered Jan. 6 contained JWH-018, a synthetic cannabinoid. The seizures were a first for the agency's Philadelphia region.

The confiscated materials are small, silvery plastic bags of dried leaves labeled with the brand name K2 and marketed as incense that can be smoked. In all, Customs and Border Protection in Philadelphia said, it has seized about four pounds of the potpourri-like stuff.

"It's just random plant material, but they coat it with a chemical and then they dry it out," said Homeland Security spokesman Steve Sapp.

Spice, Gemini and Yucatan Fire are other brands being distributed, Sapp said.

"JWH-018 is a relatively new discovery for us," said Allan Martocci, CPB director of port oversight in Philadelphia. "If it indeed reacts similar to marijuana, then it poses some real concern for law enforcement, and it's good that CBP removed these products from our nation's marketplace."

Although the drug is not federally classified as a narcotic, it is listed as a drug and chemical of concern, illegal for sale without FDA approval, according to CBP. That violation was the basis for the seizure.

With a market value of up to $50 for three grams, the Philadelphia seizures of about 2 kilograms puts the street value of the haul at as much as $30,000, the agency estimated. The parcels weighed from four to 92 grams.

Kansas and Missouri are considering outlawing synthetic marijuana.

Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com.

http://www.philly.com/philly/health_and_science/84835717.html

[Quietus]

You have to be really stupid to inhale or ingest something like that.

 A chemically constructed cannabinoid receptor agonist, HOW DELICIOUS!  If a pharmaceutical company decided to come out with a synthetic version of THC in a pill form and sell it on TV with a long list of nasty side effects, it would look very much like this crap.

[Cannasuticals]

Great find Quietus,
It's kind of bizzar as someone asked me yesterday if I knew anything about K2. I' had never heard of it. Now reading this bit of an artical, for that price, why bother?

MMJ can be produced for a single person, with a simple 150w hps, in a 2 month window, you can have approximatly 50-75 grams of dried,cured, and packed away buds, for around $25.00 a month. Thats is in a 2' x 3' x 4' box.

 You would need a pair of boxes, to keep a perpetual harvest going for you.

[Quietus]

Great find Quietus,
It's kind of bizzar as someone asked me yesterday if I knew anything about K2. I' had never heard of it. Now reading this bit of an artical, for that price, why bother?

It's more of a life safety issue than a cost concern the way I see it.

Accessing a cellular receptor pathway causes a cascade of reactions, many of which are intertwined and serve multiple functions. Aspirin curing your headache, but also thinning your blood is a good example. Doing so can be quite powerful, as is seen with most all pharmaceuticals.  However, when you don't have millions of years of evolution behind a chemical it can have some unforeseen and rather dire consequences.

Whether it's Prozac, or AmbienCR or these new synthetic cannabinoids...you are taking quite a risk.  When it comes down to a benefit/risk analysis and contrasting a functioning kidney versus explosive bowel movements that appeared in 5% of the population it's an easy decision to make.

Consider though, the research recently that appears to link cannabinoid pathway activation with certain aspects of cell apotheosis and cancer.  Is that something you want to be playing around with just to get high with a synthetic compound?  I would think not!