Drugs found at a gas station: K2, Spice and Cloud 9

The world of Synthetic Cannabinoids is populated by various products that most of us would never have considered smoking. Under various brand names (including Spice and K2 [click here for NIDA Drugfacts on K2]), small packets marked as "Potpourri," "Not for human consumption," Liquid Potpourri," and "Strongest Incense Ever Made" show up at the neighborhood head shop, and even at your neighborhood Exxon station.  

Some people will smoke ANYTHING!

When you think about it, running across a packet of "potpourri" at a service station should seem pretty unusual, especially if you relate potpourri with your aged Aunt Agnes' perfumed bathroom. Yet there is is, and people of all ages are buying and smoking these "air fresheners" every day, often with terrible consequences.

Spice/K2

What these consumers know that you and I might not is that these products were made for smoking [click link for Longview News Journal article]. They are synthetic cannabinoids, meant to legally offer the same results as marijuana--though not identical to marijuana. Their effects are more volatile and potentially negative. At their worst,  use of these substances may precipitate psychosis—people show up in the ER, after smoking, suffering severe and unpredictable results, including hypertension, tachycardia, myocardial infarction, agitation, vomiting, hallucinations, acute psychoses, seizures, convulsions and panic attacks.

Legally?

Rah-Rho, Raggy...

Well, technically legally. Ordinances and laws have been passed against certain versions, but all the manufacturers have to do is alter the chemical makeup of Scooby Snax Potpourri, for example, and it becomes legal again. A coalition-member friend of mine in law enforcement says that it is very difficult to charge someone with selling K2 because they can defend it as NOT the same substance that is outlawed (even now that there has been a state law outlawing it). The bad guys get up pretty early in the morning, and they are geniuses with chemistry.

"100% Legal!" Methinks they protest too much!

Cloud 9 and E-Cigs

Spice and K2 are small packets of organic matter, like bits of twigs and herbs, all chemically treated with the aforementioned synthetic cannabinoids. Cloud 9, however, is a "liquid Incense" (whatever the heck that is), so it is much more easily vaporized and smoked through the ever-popular E-Cigarette medium. The negative results of Cloud 9 are the same as K2/Spice, since these products are in the same family.

Little bottles of pink chemicals at the gas station! Let's smoke!

 

Butane Honey Oil, the Crack of Weed

Preface

"Honey" or "Budder"

First off, let me be clear about something: I am not detailing how BHO is made so that people will try to make it. In fact, were this basic information not readily available online, I would merely write about BHO without the bit of detail here. I include an overview of how it is made only because the process is often dangerous and deadly. In states where Marijuana is legal to consume, BHO is presently legal, but like many substances we want to delay youth exposure for as long as possible, since early exposure raises the likelihood of negative consequences.

What is BHO?

"Wax"

Butane Honey Oil is a hash oil extraction which uses butane to strip THC from marijuana. Hash oil is not new, but the oil rendered today is more potent (as is today's marijuana), estimated at anywhere from 60% to 99% more potent than traditional marijuana. That is the other large concern I have; we simply do not know the effects of regular, large doses of THC (though one study that focused on youth consumption suggests that young people who smoke regularly--3 times a week--could lose up to 10 IQ points). There just have not been many credible adult studies.

"Shatter"

Anyway, back to BHO. It can render in several different consistencies. "Shatter" is brittle, "Wax" is akin to Play-doh, and "Budder" is more like butter. Each may be dabbed (sampled with a long, needle-like tool) and smoked with no smell in e-cigarettes. BHO is also often used in consumables.   These two potentials make it very attractive to students and underage consumers. Users and Law Enforcement both refer to it as "the Crack of weed," due to its potency.

 

Don't Try This at Home

Marijuana is packed tightly into plastic, metal, PVC, or glass tubes with a hole in one end and a filter on the other.

Butane gas is then attached to the hole, and flushed through the tube. The THC, frozen and stripped from the plant material drips through the filter. The final step requires boiling the oil to release leftover Butane.

The Problem

 

Evidently, BHO is made by Ninjas. Who knew?

Sounds simple, right? The thing is, working with an explosive gas in compressed cylinders can be tricky, and boiling or baking BHO to get rid of the gas is honestly using heat on something flammable. If one is not careful—were one to cook BHO whilst “high,” for instance—the process can prove to be explosive.  As in the case of methamphetamine labs, most often, law enforcement comes to know of a amateur BHO manufacturer only after tragedy.

The BHO Lab explosion at this apartment complex in Washington State injured several occupants of other apartments and killed one man who was resting in his own apartment. He was the former Mayor.