A.K.A: Spice, K2, Synnies, Kush, Kronic
Synthetic cannabinoids are a group of chemical drugs that are sprayed onto plant material and then smoked. Though these drugs work on cannabinoid receptors in the brain but they are much stronger than THC and have far more unpredictable and dangerous effects.
Synthetic Cannabinoids can make you feel very ‘out of it’ and pleasantly sleepy. They can also make you feel dizzy, nauseous, paranoid and cause you to loose consciousness. How potent the effects are can depend on which synthetic cannabinoid you have, and how it has been sprayed on the plant material.
Due to how unpredictable they are, synthetic cannabinoids are very difficult to dose, which increases the risk of overdose.
Caution
In New Zealand there are many synthetic cannabinoids being sold that have dangerous chemicals in them. These can lead to hospitalisation or death. Find out more about recent incidents here.
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Spikes in synthetic cannabinoids harm can happen at any time, and we continue to see incidents that leave in their wake a trail of casualties. Tess Nichol reports