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WE NEED A HEALTH APPROACH TO

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOID

FACTS ABOUT

SYNTHETIC

CANNABINOID

JUNE 2016

1. WHAT IS

SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA?

plant, which derives its main psychoactive effect

through THC

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, synthetic cannabinoids get their

name from their action on various cannabinoid

receptors in the brain.

Sacrificing accuracy for simplicity, people in public

office, the media, and law enforcement use the

term “synthetic marijuana” or the brand names of

products sold, such as “Spice” or “K2,” that are known

to contain various synthetic cannabinoids.

The

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in products that were still legal.

The substances that were later identified in these

products were originally discovered by scientific

researchers looking to understand more about the

cannabinoid receptor system in the human brain

and immune system. Many of these substances

have different chemical structures than THC, the

main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, and are

full agonists at cannabinoid receptors, which can

2. WHY DO PEOPLE USE

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOID

PRODUCTS LIKE “SPICE”

AND “K2?”

The emergence of synthetic cannabinoids

has mirrored the same trends seen with other

novel psychoactive substances. People may use

synthetic cannabinoids when experimenting

with other substances, and in some cases use

may be accidental.

LEGALLY AVAILABLE.

Due to the ongoing prohibition of marijuana,

emergence of the synthetic cannabinoid market

over the last decade has met demand by being a

legal or quasi legal alternative. Because standard

drug testing only tests for THC found in plant-based

marijuana, synthetic cannabinoid products do not

trigger a positive result. This appealed to active

military personnel, professional athletes, people

on parole, and people in treatment for substance

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replacement to marijuana or other drugs.

While no specific measures are available, people

that continue to use synthetic cannabinoids are

perhaps those looking for a cheaper alternative or

to pass drug tests, rather than due to preference

over marijuana.

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3. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN SYNTHETIC

CANNABINOIDS

found in plant-based marijuana and therefore have

chemical and pharmacological properties largely

unknown outside of the laboratory.

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Due to the ongoing prohibition of marijuana and

advances in technology that allowed for access

to drug research and easier chemical production,

a market for synthetic cannabinoids developed in

the early 2000s.

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Synthetic cannabinoid products

synthetic cannabinoids, their appearance, taste,

and smell are different.

4. WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS?

Synthetic cannabinoids are mistakenly considered

to closely mimic the effects of marijuana, but in

fact there are significant differences. As their

name suggests, synthetic cannabinoids, like THC

and other substances in marijuana, affect the

brain by stimulating activity at various cannabinoid

include nausea and vomiting, seizures, aggression

psychoactive substance in marijuana, is a partial

agonist, synthetic cannabinoids are full agonists.

Adverse reactions to synthetic cannabinoids saw

calls to poison control centers peak at just under

10,000 in 2015,

and the number of emergency room

visits in the tens of thousands

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(these figures have

since gone down). One explanation for the high

number of hospital visits is that other substances

cannabinoids specific causes for these effects will

remain only partially understood.

5. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN “SPICE”, “K2,”

AND OTHER SYNTHETIC

CANNABINOID PRODUCTS?

A synthetic cannabinoid product is a branded

as the JWH series, which were the most extensively

studied in laboratory research. As laws banning

the JWH compounds took effect, newer and less

researched synthetic cannabinoids such as XR-11,

AB-PINACA, and AB- FUBINACA were used in products

since they had not been banned.

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manufacturers, mostly consisting of clandestine

formulations in an effort to work around laws

attempting to prohibit them, and brands often

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CANNABINOIDS LEGAL?

For the most part, no.

When synthetic cannabinoid products began to

appear in convenience stores in the mid-2000s they

contained substances that were not specifically

banned by state or federal drug laws. But by the end

of the decade, a few states passed laws to ban their

sale, and in 2011 the DEA used emergency protocols

to temporarily schedule some of the substances

Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) –

the most restrictive classification.

Each state is currently using various administration

actions, prosecution strategies, and regulations

for product labeling and branding to either quickly

ban individual substances or criminalize sales.

Most states have also enacted (and many others

have pending legislation) criminal and civil penalties

for sale of products that attempt to avoid being

advertised as “synthetic drugs” by claiming products

However, these laws essentially “mark the battle

lines” as manufacturers of synthetic cannabinoids

can make small changes to the chemical

formulas in order to skirt these laws, producing

newer synthetic cannabinoids that have not yet

commercial sale but hold retailers accountable for

REDUCTION APPROACH TO

SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS?

As demand persists despite attempts to prohibit

supply, a regulated framework is needed to control

health outcomes, care for vulnerable populations,

and protect young people include:

• Provide outreach and resources for

• Provide comprehensive drug education

• Revisit plans to tax and regulate

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