Curious about the saftey of "incense" sold at headshops.

[ornery_hipster]

My husband has been trying out these herbal mixtures that we have found in headshops, one called Zombie Killa and one called Poison. They claim to be legal, natural, and one even said it was JWH free. They contained Alviae Folium, Turnera diffusa, Verbascum thapsus, and Artemisia vulgaris.

I looked them up online and they APPEAR to all be regular herbs that seem pretty okay for use but was wondering if these things are usually good about truthfully listing EVERYTHING included in the bag. I was also wondering if these "incenses" are normally safe.

I was reading on Wikipedia that some states have put an emergency ban on cannabanoids (like K2) and they're now illegal in some states (Georgia, where I live, being one of them). Is this mixture considered a cannabanoid? Do you think it's still legal in my bible belt state of Georgia since they're cracking down all over the country? Thanks, guys!

 

[fryingsquirrel]

Here's the thing-It's kinda hard to say if something is safe or legal without knowing what it is.

There are shitloads of cannabinoids, including many that aren't jwh-something. Presumably they're using ones now that aren't banned under federal law or most states, but no one can really say for sure. If anyone gets in trouble it would most likely be the seller, but I wouldn't carry the stuff around in the car so some gung ho cop can arrest you first and figure out if you've broken any law later.

As far as safety, my GUESS is that these are safer because they likely don't contain the napthalene moity that jwh-018 and 073 do. Pure speculation until someone has the stuff tested to see what's really in it.

 

[ornery_hipster]

Aside from my first question which I can't wait to hear specifics on, JWH-018/073 is what, exactly? I've read a little and I'm still unclear as to what exactly it is and HOW it's harmful. I think I saw there were a lot of JWH-###'s with a million different numbers, is that to say other JWH's that end in something other than 018/073 are "safe"?

 

[jackie jones]

The JWH chemicals are synthetic cannabinods.

No research chemicals have been determined to be safe, hence the term 'Research Chemical' - A chemical which requires research to determine its safety. There are many anecdotal reports to which most people report no negative effects. There are some, however, that report intense hallucinations and panic.

 

[fryingsquirrel]

Aside from my first question which I can't wait to hear specifics on, JWH-018/073 is what, exactly? I've read a little and I'm still unclear as to what exactly it is and HOW it's harmful. I think I saw there were a lot of JWH-###'s with a million different numbers, is that to say other JWH's that end in something other than 018/073 are "safe"?

The idea is that cannabinoids containing napthalene may be metabolized to something carcinogenic. This would include both 018 and 073, among may others. jwh-250 doesn't, and I think this the best guess to whats in the newer ones. Apart from eliminating a potential cancer causing affect it's not among the list of banned chemicals, and fairly potent. This is far from saying it's safe, no human testing as been done with any of these, but it crosses one concern off the list at least.

 

[zapatista]

Because they are "not for human consumption' there is no warranty of safety. The use for anything other than as an incense is a risk. Believe me, its a risk.
The fist mistake that most make is to treat it as cannabis. Most are a slow creep and you can find yourself in a bad place by ripping a bowlfull of these mixes. Many are active at very small amounts.

 

[sekio]

Just because some "incense" is marked as not containing JWH doesn't mean it actually doesn't. And there *are* synthetic cannabinoids with other prefixes of drug developers that logically wouldn't be JWHs but still be potently active.

If you want to be sure your "incense" is what it's labled as - make it yourself. But I guarantee anything that produces cannabis-like euphoria, paranoia, time distortion etc. will be adulterated with mysterious CB1 agonists, labeled or not.

When dosed "correctly" (what that dose may be is up to the user), most "incense blends" are "safe" and will not produce lasting physical effects. In overdose they are renowned for inducing panic attacks (and in some cases even sparking panic or anxiety disorders thereby ruining Spice, cannabis, or even whole families of drugs for the user) and very little is known about their long term safety.

In addition, if you intend to ingest the "incense" to produce effects similar to marijuana, you have a Schedule I controlled substance in the states. Be careful.

Best to stay away from the stuff.

 

[ornery_hipster]

Yeeeah, he loves his pot and we've had some legal issues lately (fucking pigs) so he wanted to try something "legal" in small doses, but it doesn't seem so legal with what I've read about the emergency bans and cannabanoids and all that. Is what I've listed above a cannabanoid, assuming that's all that's in this mixture?

Also, I'm not quite understanding the Schedule 1, Sekio. Are you saying if it's obvious you intended to smoke it, say by having a bowl right next to it, that then takes it out of the "just incense" category that you could claim it to be and then puts it into a Schedule 1 because of intended drug usage?

 

[ornery_hipster]

The idea is that cannabinoids containing napthalene may be metabolized to something carcinogenic. This would include both 018 and 073, among may others. jwh-250 doesn't, and I think this the best guess to whats in the newer ones. Apart from eliminating a potential cancer causing affect it's not among the list of banned chemicals, and fairly potent. This is far from saying it's safe, no human testing as been done with any of these, but it crosses one concern off the list at least.

Super helpful, by the way. Thanks.