How To Spot Synthetic Marijuana Symptoms
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09-05-13 Category: Drug Rehab, Marijuana

Synthetic marijuana is packaged and sold under all different names and chemical compositions.

K2, Spice, and Bath Salts are the most common, but maybe you have also heard of or have seen Black Mamba, Bombay Blue, Genie, Bliss, Blaze, Yucatan Fire, Skunk or Moon Rocks? If you have adolescent or teenager kids, chances are they have heard of and seen the various strains of synthetic marijuana floating around.

Facts About Synthetic Marijuana

Even though most packages of synthetic marijuana are labeled “not for human consumption”, the dried, shredded plant material with chemicals added are marketed to be smoked like naturally occurring marijuana. At head shops that sell drug paraphernalia, several versions of synthetic marijuana can be easily purchased with a pipe or rolling papers.

Synthetic marijuana is sadly most popular among young people, which the National Institute on Drug Abuse, or NIDA, identifies as high school seniors. Right after marijuana, its synthetic copycats have the highest rate of abuse among high school students.

Why Are Young People Using Synthetic Marijuana?

These drugs are much easier for underage people to purchase. When a package of K2 is available as conveniently as a bottle of water, it’s no wonder kids are trying it. The drug offers effects similar to marijuana: elevated mood, altered perception, heightened sense of relaxation, and a euphoric high.

Synthetic marijuana also goes undetected on drug tests. The current tests that can screen for marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, amphetamines, heroin, opiates, psychedelics, and pretty much any other drug out there, are not designed to test for the five chemicals generally used in synthetic marijuana. If a young person is worried that his or her parents will drug test them, or if they need a test for college entry, or any other purpose, they are resorting to synthetic marijuana use, which is creating a whole new level of drug abuse.

What Makes Synthetic Marijuana So Dangerous

The seemingly positive, sought-after effects also come with the potential for paranoia, extreme anxiety and sweating, hallucinations, restlessness, an inability to speak, increased aggression, and uncharacteristic violent behavior.

These are just some of the possible side effects of using an unpredictable. Who knows what chemicals you are getting when you are smoking these various man-made concoctions? When you have no idea what you are ingesting, there is automatic built-in risk of damage to your brain and your body.

With each batch of these chemicals, sold as K2, Spice, or another same, the chemical compositions are different, so even if you have smoked one blend before, packaged as Moon Rocks, another package with the same name may not be the same amount of each chemical. Subsequently you have no idea what you are smoking. If that is not scary enough, the chemicals is synthetic marijuana variations have all been banned by the DEA.

How Can You Spot Synthetic Marijuana Symptoms in Someone You Know?

If you are worried that this might be the case, here’s how to spot synthetic marijuana symptoms:

A the University of Colorado, hospital personnel have seen numerous people rushing to the emergency room because synthetic marijuana use has caused scary physical and psychological symptoms. As Christopher Hoyte, the Medical Director of the university hospital’s Toxicology Center puts it, “People come in with high heart rates, and agitation, not following commands, confused, slurring their words. Those are probably the most common types of symptoms.”

  • Have you noticed any of these symptoms in your child, or anyone else you think may be using synthetic marijuana?
  • Is your teen unresponsive? What about irritable or aggressive when he or she is usually calm and kind?
  • Since synthetic marijuana can be different every time a user smokes it, the effects can also vary. If you notice any changes in behavior, you have grounds for wondering if your child is using drugs, which now include synthetic marijuana.
  • In many reported cases of synthetic marijuana abuse, users have experienced psychotic episodes. When caused by drugs like LSD, these type of psychosis can cause permanent damage. You do not want to wait, not say anything, and risk your loved one causing irreversible impairment.

What To Do Next When You See the Symptoms?

Can you try talking to your teen or young adult child? Can you approach the subject without anxiety, judgment, or an accusatory stance? Instead express your concern. Tell your child how much you love him or her, and say just how important his or her life is to you.

The staff at Sovereign Health Group of California is here to help. For more information, call now (866) 819-0427.

Post by: Marissa Maldonado


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