K2

K2: Legal Marijuana

 

 

     There's a new drug on the market that is worrying lawmakers and officials, but there isn't much that can be done about it because it’s still legal.

    The drug is K2. It’s a synthetic chemical close to the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in marijuana that has been sprayed onto different herbs and spices. Most smoke shops sell it as “incense not fit for consumption,” but that hasn’t stopped users from smoking it. 

     Supposedly the drug produces a high identical to that of marijuana. However, a blogger in Kansas City who gave a product review of K2 said that unlike marijuana, K2’s high drops off quickly so that you don’t end up red-eyed and groggy for hours afterwards. That, coupled with the fact that many common drug tests don’t pick it up, make it a dangerous drug and one that can be hard to detect on somebody who has just had some.

    The drug was invented back in the 1990s when a professor at Clemson University in South Carolina was researching the effects of marijuana-like drugs on the brain. He wrote a paper that contained ingredients that somehow made its way to companies in Korea and China—where most of the world’s commercial K2 is produced.

    Although he accidentally created the drug, the professor does not condone the usage of K2 because of how little is known about the long-term effects.

     Because the drug is so new and obscure, only legislators in Kansas and Missouri have tried to pass laws concerning K2. It was only brought to their attention when some high school students tried (and failed) to steal some from the local headshop. 

     However, the rest of the world has already started to take action—most countries in Europe prohibit the drug and give possession the same fines and penalties as pot. It is also banned in the US military, along with all other mood-altering substances.

     Nobody in Minnesota has been caught trying to make K2 illegal yet. Even so, trying to get a hold of any is not recommended. Dozens of people have been thrown in jail for possession, even though it’s a legal substance, and some headshops are being federally prosecuted for selling.