Okay, I'm not going to beat around the bush here and lie to anyone reading this. When I was younger and all throughout my twenties and thirties, I did smoke marijuana. I inhaled and exhaled a lot of it and on many occasions. I even did a lot of research on the legalization of marijuana because I don't drink, so I wanted to find a way to get just as messed up as my drunken friends. I even went as far as wanting to become a member of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) because at the time, to me, marijuana was not a deadly drug like cocaine, crack, or heroin because it was all-natural. Also, you never heard about someone dying or killing because they were high on marijuana. To be honest, smoking marijuana just made you tired, lazy, and if it was really good, it made you giggly. So, there was no way anyone was getting up to kill anybody. They only thing that was getting killed here were brain cells.
Well, here in 2012, not so much the case anymore. Now, there is something legal on the market that is as easy to buy as aspirin. It's called 'synthetic pot' and is sold in corner stores as herbal incense or potpourri, and doctors and politicians are saying it's becoming a dangerous plague in New York City. A number of people looking for a quick high are winding up in emergency rooms with alarming symptoms ranging from hallucinations and seizures to panic attacks and violent behavior. Now, anyone who's smoked natural marijuana, do any of these symptoms sound familiar to you? Because I don't ever remember hallucinating, having a seizure or panic attack or even acting violent when I was enjoying the natural herb, which means there is something very wrong with this synthetic stuff.
This problem seems to be growing so fast that a major medical journal issued a warning last week about the substance, which is often referred to as K2 or Spice. New York Senator, Chuck Schumer is actually pushing for a nationwide ban that would make it illegal to sell the condom-sized packets that sell for $15 to $75 at stores and online.
According to an NYU medical toxicologist, most people are treating the synthetic weed like its 'just pot', but it's not. He went on to say that synthetic marijuana is really quite different and its effects are much more unpredictable because the synthetic cannabinoids, which is sometimes sprayed with toxic chemicals, is supposed to mimic marijuana's active ingredient, THC, binding to similar brain receptors. Guess what? It's not hitting the similar receptors and that's why people are having these ill effects.
The packets, which come with names like Aroma and Killer Buzz, are labeled "not for human consumption", but you'd be hard-pressed to find someone buying them as incense. In fact, several teen deaths have been blamed on the marijuana substitute. Just last week, a 17-year-old, who was reportedly high on it, fatally stabbed a sleeping schoolmate in Washington State because he felt the urge to hurt someone. Last June, a 19-year-old was killed after he bought Aroma at an Illinois Mall and crashed his car into a house at 100 M.P.H., and in June 2010, an 18-year-old from Iowa committed suicide in a frenzy of anxiety that his parents believed was triggered by K2. In New York City, the first four cases were reported to the Health Department's poison control in 2010. There were 71 cases in 2011 and 44 more so far this year. Fifty-seven people have ended up in the emergency room in the past 12 months because of this synthetic pot. Last I checked, this never happened with the illegal stuff. Going by these stats, synthetic marijuana is not good for you, people! Find a good dealer and get the real stuff! Yes, it's a little bit more expensive and illegal, but your health depends on it! Besides, how deadly can the natural stuff be if doctors prescribe it to treat patients?
New Yorkers who have tried it say that there are only two reasons to use the synthetic stuff rather than real pot: "It won't get you busted by the cops, and it won't make you fail a drug test." Here's an easy solution to that! Don't smoke the real stuff in front of cops and if you're so worried about a drug test, don't smoke it! It's that simple. For those of you who have tried this synthetic garbage, God Bless! I'll stick to the real stuff because it's better for you!
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