Monday, January 3, 2011

Naughty or Nice? The Truth About Spice...

Okay, this is a subject that has hit home several times already, and it's one of my hot buttons. As a cannabis advocate and studier of shamanic and spiritual ways, I find so many things offensive about these products being dubbed "fake pot".

I'm sure you are no stranger to the new industry of "synthetic cannabis" and "fake pot". The people who produce such things as Spice, K2, Salvia, smoke-able incense and synthetic cannabinoid sprays. The people who sell these products will usually tell you that these products are just as safe as cannabis, and just like the same high, but that their legal so that makes them better.

These attempts to get around the illegality of the true cannabis sativa plant, have been around since just after the prohibition started in 1936. Though they have not really ever hit the market with such a boom as they have recently. Mostly because they were never really marketed with such vigor, nor did prior marketers have such useful tools as the internet and social media's. In the past decade, these psychotropic herbs have found their way into the mainstream.

This would not be such a bad thing, except that they haven't been marketing these herbs for what they truly are: Psychotropic or Psychadelic herbs. Instead, they have been calling them "synthetic cannabis" and "fake pot". Not because these mixtures are truly like cannabis, but because people trust the cannabis name. People understand that cannabis is safe and healthy to use, so when they see another herb or mixture of herbs that are labeled as another form of cannabis, they jump to it. This is criminal in my mind. It gives cannabis a bad name.

Some of the plants, such as Zornia latifolia, have been used by some cultures as a substitute for cannabis. Though none of them have claimed the herbs to 'cannabis-like'. In fact, most of the herbs that are now being marketed as synthetic cannabis, have been herbs that have been used by shamans and other ancient practitioners, to reach altered states of reality. These are powerful herbs that can turn a person into a nut-house if they aren't careful. Altered states are not something to mess with when you don't even have an inkling as to what you are doing. They may not be "poisonous", but they certainly are potent in their own ways.

Yet none of the pushers of fake pot will tell you that, and for that matter, half of them don't even know it themselves. Some of them push it because they feel they are doing some service to those that would like access to a safer alternative then alcohol, while others are just doing it because these herbs are not yet regulated by the gov, and they see a way to make profits. Either way, it's a stupid idea in my mind.

It would probably bother me less, if they were at least honest about what they are selling, and what the effects of their herbs and mixtures really can do to the people who use them. Especially because many people have attempted to use these herbs as if they really were cannabis, and ended up having nervous brake-downs, car accidents or committing suicide. Now, it's not to say that everyone will have that reaction, but with true cannabis, no such thing has happened. Paranoia? Yes. Nervous break downs? No way. Cannabis is a unique and genuine plant that cannot be synthesized, copied or faked. I don't care what anyone tells you. Simply because they have found a few plants that can interact with some of our endocannabinoid receptors, does not make them safe, helpful or good to use.

On top of that, most pushers of spice, herbal incense and herbal smoking mixtures, don't really have any idea what reacts with people in their mixtures. Several cannabinoids have been named from scientists who discovered them as mimicing THC, though none of them have actually been found in most of the spice mixtures. Instead, it is mostly a compound of synthetic vitamin E and other synthetic sources, that gives spice it's kick. How is that for honest? Most spice dealers don't even understand the way their mixtures work. Fancy lingo about what they think makes it work, doesn't hide the ignorance involved in what they are doing. Especially when tests on the substances don't match up with what the sellers are suggesting.

One of the largest problems that has arisen from this, is that spice and other "fake pot" mixtures, are not regulated by any agencies out there to protect unsuspecting people. The other problem is that many people are too ignorant to research what they are using, before they use it. I mean, if someone tried to sell me an incense that said "not for human consumption", but said that I could smoke it, that would be red alert number one. It's all good to slight to FDA and their corrupt organization, but by going around saying it's something that it's not, is crazy. Especially when it comes to calling anything similar to cannabis.

Calling anything "fake" or "synthetic" cannabis, gives cannabis a bad name. Cannabis is a special, and unlike any other herbs out there. Even some of the spices claimed to be milder then other herbs, can have much harsher effects then cannabis, even in it's dirtiest strains.

Seattle hasn't been a stranger to spice, and it seems to be showing up in the news more often, that mishaps are happening with people using and abusing spice and similar products. This is a clear show that cannabis should be legalized sooner rather than later. If it were legal, then there would be few, if any, reasons for people to seek legal alternatives or substitutes to cannabis. There would still be a few, but their numbers would be low.

On top of that, those people who still use these herbs for traditional spiritual practices, would not have to suffer the consequences of more herbs being prohibited. So far, it is only the spice and incense itself that has been placed on a temporary schedule I list for a year, but once they are done analyzing all the mixtures, who is to say that they would not ban each herb individually? They have done it in the past, and anyone who sells or buys spice and other "fake pot" products, will be contributing to that prohibition.

Come on people, let's be smarter than that. Don't search for legal alternatives. Instead, put that energy into relegalization and reform of the drug war. It will be safer and healthier for everyone in the long run.

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