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Misc What is it with Spice (aka K2, aka Potpourri)? What makes it so addictive?

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FunctionlJnkieGal

Bluelighter
Joined
Dec 9, 2015
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I use to work at a head-shop where the owner sold a spice-like product that we called "potpourri". All the customers had to sign a pad stating that what they bought would not be used for illegal purposes (the packaging even states "not for human consumption"). Seemingly normal, decent looking people would come in to buy that stuff and just a few short months later they look like homeless crackheads. I've noticed lot of tweakers seem to like that drug too for whatever reason. It was finally banned in my town a couple of years ago ; my then boss got raided at the store, though he returned to work shortly after (he's still facing court/legality issues concerning the bust). In 2010, when spice was still somewhat unheard of in the area, my boyfriend and I were at a party when a friend of his was telling us about a legal "weed alternative" he bought (since his new job drug-tests him regularly). Neither of us had ever tried it so when his friend asked if we wanted to smoke a bowl with him we figured "what the hell". Normally I stay away from designer drugs or any drug I know nothing about, but as it was free and legal at the time I saw no harm in it (figuring it would be along the likes of salvia, or something similar). We each took a drag but my boyfriend and I felt nothing from it. I hear that spice is very unpredictable due to the inconsistency of the ingredients varying from bag to bag. I've heard reports ranging from 0 effects to "HOLY SH*T that was the craziest drug I've ever done". We haven't tried it again since that 1 time and have absolutely no desire to ever try it again. My co-worker at the time was telling me that he smoked some when he woke up, was walking to work, blacked out, and woke up in the ER with medical staff trying to revive him with a defibrillator. Knowing that, I'm glad I didn't ever try it again. I already have enough problems being an opiate addict. But seriously, what makes it so addictive? What does it compare to? I've even heard people say its more addictive than heroin (which is hard for me to believe). One person even told me it feels like every type of drug all in 1 (like a drug cocktail, so to speak), but wouldn't that feel a bit too overwhelming to even be euphoric if you're stimulated, sedated, dissociated, and hallucinating all simultaneously?
 
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These products contain different synthetic cannabinoids which are much more potent than regular weed or hash. They have a higher affinity to the cannabinoid receptors and usually a shorter duration that leads to compulsive redosing. Overdoses can cause serious problems such as psychosis and other physical problems. The active ingredients are far more addictive than normal cannabis products but not more than opioids in my opinion.

I would never touch that shit. It is an excrescence of the war on drugs and a prime example for the legalization of marijuana because these alternatives cause far more problems than the original.
People do it for various reasons though: No fear of losing your drivers license, legal to buy etc. but the long-term effects are unknown and short term it just fucks the users up.

There are reports of people having grand-mal seizures from smoking too much. I think the 'noid was AM-2201 in these cases. Just shows you how dangerous this stuff can be.
 
You can easily lose your drivers license on spice....

Anyways, probably a big part of it is simply not knowing wtf spice is, since spice is as generic a term as "dope" these days....
 
Many of these synthetic cannabinoids are full agonists at the cannabinoid receptors, whereas THC is only a partial agonist... so with actual weed you'll soon reach a point of diminishing returns where you'd need an insane amount to intensify your high any further, while synthetic noids will continue to get you more and more stoned as you increase the dosage.
 
tricomb said:
You can easily lose your drivers license on spice....
Click to expand...

Are the synthetic Noids shown in the standard urine tests nowadays? I always thought they are not and I know a few people who came up with this argument why they would buy the stuff instead of regular cannabis products. But if you seem high during a person control that obviously will be a problem.

I also agree on the missing knowledge. When Spice got big over here in Europe some people argued that it is just a special mixture of herbs that simulates a THC high and not containing an active ingredient...
 
i was addicted to spice , was paying $50 A BAG every day 4 grams , and i just keep redosing , i thought i was blacking out and having a little nap but my girlfriend video recorded me having seizueres and doing all sorts of weird shit on it , after seeing those videos i knew it was time to stop , its funny how something that takes so many lives and has deadly side effects is legal , but cannabis isnt , well thats a whole other story :)
 
I had a 2-3 year addiction to this along with Another person. I experienced inability to eat and would wake up every 45minutes needing a hit or I would lose it. I mean I can't really describe the mental withdrawal but it was worse than my suboxone withdrawals mental part(the physical part of sub withdrawal is of course insanse though). I think it is because the cannabinoids are full agonist and THC is a partial agonist so it produces a very intense cannabis like withdrawal syndrome. When I don't smoke weed I feel mild cravings,and mild appetite loss so it makes perfect sense
 
It's just herbs that have been sprayed with various chemicals...

Hospitals were seeing many cases due to "spice", "k2" or whatever you want to call it..

The shit is straight up bad for you.
 
I use to smoke it alot when it was sold in gas stations, this was back in 09/10 I think, when JWH-18 was still legal. I never had a problem being 'addicted' to it, like none whatsoever except for the feeling of "I wanna get high" BUT this was when it was just the JWH series...now there are probly hundreds of different canibinoids that probly have god knows what in it, probly a mixture of differnt ones etc.. last time I had it was almost a year ago I think, or something like that. I got a few packeets a few times off the street cuz I'm on Subs and didn't wanna fail a drug test..it seemed to be waaay more stronger than it use to be when it was the JWH series that was put in there. I'm only speaking from JWH though, now there probly are ones out there that cause physical dependence with regular use.
 
Screaming_Skull said:
I use to smoke it alot when it was sold in gas stations, this was back in 09/10 I think, when JWH-18 was still legal. I never had a problem being 'addicted' to it, like none whatsoever except for the feeling of "I wanna get high" BUT this was when it was just the JWH series...now there are probly hundreds of different canibinoids that probly have god knows what in it, probly a mixture of differnt ones etc.. last time I had it was almost a year ago I think, or something like that. I got a few packeets a few times off the street cuz I'm on Subs and didn't wanna fail a drug test..it seemed to be waaay more stronger than it use to be when it was the JWH series that was put in there. I'm only speaking from JWH though, now there probly are ones out there that cause physical dependence with regular use.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the JWH series was a lot closer to THC than the subsequent generations, which seemed to get more and more sketchy as they went.
 
A short, intense high from a single puff. The intensity and duration are what I believe make it so addictive to some. I wouldn't smoke spice if I were given a life supply.
 
The first time I smoked spice was at work. A co-worker offered me a hit off a small metal pipe during a cigarette break, and I assumed without asking that it was weed. Took three huge rips...big mistake. Never thought I would touch the stuff again.

Fast forward a year and now I am on probation leaving me unable to smoke weed. Thought hey, lets give spice another try, I probably just smoked too much. And so began a journey straight into the depths of hell. Fiending, I mean like waking up in the middle of the night several times to rip the bowl so I could get back to sleep fiending. Carpet picking. Cold sweats. Flu-like symptoms. You get the idea. As horrible as all of that sounds, a part of me really did love that garbage. It was nothing like weed though in all honesty. More like a cracked out dissociative that I miss sometimes.
 
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I've always hated dissociative drugs. They're way too intense for me. And that stuff only keeps you high for an hour or so before you start feeling sick again? And I thought dilaudid was bad with its 3 to 4 hr relief...
 
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