K2 ban bill moves to Senate
The drug is viewed as a marijuana alternative.
Published March 5, 2010
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K2, shown here at Bocomo Bay, is one of several brands of drugs that have a different structure but the same effects as THC, the main ingredient in marijuana. A bill, sponsored by Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, passed out of committee Monday and would ban those drugs.
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A bill to ban K2, a legal substance touted as an alternative to marijuana, cleared a Senate committee Monday.
Easily obtainable and undetectable in traditional drug tests, the substance, labeled as "herbal incense," is legally available in Missouri. Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, sponsored the legislation.
"I think when people really understand what it is, it's not quite as controversial as people think it is to ban it," Schaefer said. "You know nobody is banning the inert organic substance, the dried flowers and leaves, the inert matter that the chemical is sprayed on. It's the chemical itself."
The herbs used in the manufacture of K2 do not contain the drug's active ingredients. These synthetic chemicals are produced separately and then applied to the plants.
The compounds used in these drugs vary in chemical structure from THC, the main reactive chemical in marijuana, but act upon the brain to produce similar effects, according to a report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
Freshmen Tyler Lee, David Uhr and Adam Stine discussed their discovery and use of K2 outside of a local tobacco shop.
"I smoked it for the first time yesterday," Lee said. "I would call it an intense cigarette that lasted like 30 minutes."
The "high" obtained from the drug seems to vary from user to user, but many refer to it as being similar to the effects of marijuana.
"It's like marijuana without the creativity," Uhr said. "I think it's less potent (than marijuana)."
K2 is readily available at many smoke shops, sold as herbal incense. Anyone 18 and older can bu K2, sold for between $20 and $50 for three grams.
"You can get it anywhere," Uhr said. "We're going to get some right now."
MU Police Department Capt. Brian Weimer said he hasn't had any run-ins with the drug in his course of duty.
"It's not something we're seeing," Weimer said.
Despite this, students are using the drug to their legal advantage.
"I learned about K2 as an alternative to pass drug tests," Stine said. "You can pass for probation like that."
K2, and other drugs like it, are not unique to the U.S.
Spice, a similar mixture of synthetic cannabinoids, has been outlawed or placed under controlled status in several EU member states, including Luxembourg, Poland and the United Kingdom.
The chemical composition of Spice, as well as that of K2, remains largely a mystery.
The synthetic cannabinoid compound identified in K2 is known as JWH-018, one of several similar chemicals Clemson University professor John Huffman discovered.
Schaefer's bill, which now moves to the full Senate, also seeks to outlaw drugs, such as the analgesic tapentadol and the naturally occurring hallucinogen 5-MeO-DMT, found in certain tree barks and in the venoms of some toads.
Comments (11)
2:50 p.m., March 5, 2010
paul said:
All the band will do is put more people out of work. And that will not help out in this time of need for jobs. And the people will still get high no matter what law is passed. Just like they did before K-2.
10:10 p.m., March 6, 2010
James Carroll said:
Why are people constantly trying to outlaw anything that changes your state of consciousness? And quit complaining about how you are afraid of people getting behind the wheel after smoking this stuff. I promise you, if you smoke JWH-018, you will be sitting your happy butt down on the couch. You will not be running around town in your vehicle. And if you do end up behind the wheel, you’ll be going 25mph and you’ll be fascinated about how feel like you’re racing at 90mph. You will NOT be driving dangerously. You’ll be driving more cautious that you ever have in your life. After years of research, as far as I’ve seen in the past few months of reading articles about synthetic THC varieties, none of them have ever been proven to have any dangerous toxic effects on the human body when taken at reasonable doses. In fact one study so far has shown for instance that HU-210 aids in brain cell regeneration, and I wouldn’t doubt it if the others have this effect as well. At the same time thousands of additives that are in canned foods, fast foods, and children's candies are approved by the FDA without ever undergoing such extensive scrutiny... and an overwhelming amount of them such as artificial sweeteners are proven to cause damage to the body, yet they still remain FDA approved for consumption. It's like someone with authority is constantly saying "God forbid that you ever experience any state of mind other than the one that you've been prescribed by your society," and, “God forbid that anybody ever find anything that actually aids in brain cell regeneration and overall CNS health.” Yet they believe that it's perfectly Ok to ruin your health with non-psychoactive substances that are proven to be linked to cancer. I think the time will come very soon when our nation as a whole will understand that the nature of our consciousness is the most important frontier to pioneer and come to a higher realization of, but the Dark Alliance will continue to try to delay the inevitable. They don't like it when you figure out how to break their voodoo spells. I share with you this quote... "Western societies have been on a decentralizing bender for five hundred years, concluding that the Earth is not the center of the universe and man is not the beloved of God. We have moved ourselves out toward the edge of the galaxy, when the fact is that the most richly organized material in the universe is the human cerebral cortex, and the densest and richest experience in the universe is the experience you are having right now. Everything should be constellated outward from the perceiving self. That is the primary datum." Terence McKenna - Tryptamine Hallucinogens and Consciousness More words from Terence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq6N4kQK-KA
10:13 p.m., March 7, 2010
mike said:
dont tell the law makers but little children as young as 3 or 4 are spinning in circles until they get dizzy and fall down in the grass laughing in an altered state of consciousness. preliminary studies indicate this activity may have been going on for hundreds if not thousands of years right under the noses of prudish lawmakers i trust the powers that be will legislate new laws to stop this victimless pleasure at once by imposing stiff, fines ,penalties and certainly incarceration
10:25 p.m., March 15, 2010
Mike Longhorn said:
Rumor has it, Pandora Potpourri is developing a new product that contains none of the chemicals in the bill so who really cares if they ban K2? I'm sure they're not the only ones... there's money to be made. All this law really did was draw attention to the fact that incense could be smoked. Prior to the media picking it up, there was very little abuse. These laws are just politicians pandering to the religious right. They are not based on any factual information that the product is harmful. Why not regulate it, instead of pushing into the hands of drug dealers who really don't care about the public safety. At least store owners could ID, and commercial manufactures could provide warnings against abuse.
1:27 p.m., April 11, 2010
Victoria K. said:
Well, for once the negative side effects that are claimed are for real this time. Look at it like Reefer Madness but for real. I smoked K2 for the first time last night, and I am sitting here terrified. I experience ALL of the negative side effects that people are being hospitalized for and talking about but not enough are talking about. I felt like I was going to die (emotionally and physically) and my heart was going to explode, I have never felt such a wave of agony in my life. I never heard of K2 before last night, I thought it was a strain of that fake weed they sell in pot magazines. I don't live under a rock, I just don't care about drugs and I only smoke weed occasionally. I documented all of the things that happened to me before I even Googled it.
8:59 p.m., July 11, 2010
Dale P said:
Stop being such slaves to a substance. "All hail the great and mighty weed - my master." Weaklings.
2:38 p.m., Aug. 16, 2010
b said:
I'm looking for a decent place to discuss this next move of the government's misuse of power. Take a look at what Victoria K said again: I smoked K2 for the first time last night, and I am sitting here terrified. I experience ALL of the negative side effects that people are being hospitalized for and talking about but not enough are talking about. I felt like I was going to die (emotionally and physically) and my heart was going to explode, I have never felt such a wave of agony in my life. I never heard of K2 before last night, I thought it was a strain of that fake weed they sell in pot magazines. Truth is YOU chose to smoke it. Do people need a government to BAN something because YOU are too simple to NOT DO IT in the first place? I am frequently frustrated with governmental choices such as this, where articles are written and almost every public comment is vexed in opposition. I would like a bulleted list of every reason why this JWH substance is being banned in states. Then, I would like a bulleted list of ways this ban will change (or help fix, some might say) the world (economy, the general public, future laws). I'm sure there are good intentions written in this initial decision, but the contradictions that arise will show the process is only helping us move backwards.
4:19 p.m., Aug. 21, 2010
Arthur Arant said:
The government should stop worrying about sut trivial things. So there's another legal high,so what. getting rid of k2 will just make the user go to using nitrous,or salvia,or any of the many numerous legal highs there are. Including alcohol which is like one of the worst drugs you can do, and thats including illegal drugs. Alcohol is what should be made illegal,if anything. Want to talk about public safty? How about the number of people who die of alcohol related deaths every year. If you added up all the drunk driving accidents,alcohol poisonings,murders that occured UTI, it would be a stifling number even in comparison to illegal drugs. And thats not including people who just kill themselves by just being drunk stupid and walking in front of a bus or something. Maryjuana is a much less toxic,less intoxicating substance. It was only illegalized in the first place because it was poised as a replacement for timber as a raw material to make paper. In short, legalize maryjuana and illegalize that FILTHY TOXIC BOOZE!!!!
2:54 p.m., Dec. 22, 2010
Pii-ke said:
In my opinion. K2 needs to go. And they need to legalize marijuana.
10:19 p.m., Jan. 8, 2011
dustin said:
haha assholes senates we still got k2 u cant stop us we are free and will do what ever we want fuck u goverment kiss are asses we dont fuck wit ur shit make clinton the president again
6:23 a.m., March 5, 2010
Christa said:
why do they feel they need to mother all of us, some of us use it for pain. They say there is no medical use for K2 - THAT IS A LIE!! I have smoked it for 2 months now and have had only ONE migraine- Before K2 I had 2 to 3 a week! I have been able to do so much around the house and out side because I have not been in pain! PLEASE fix the laws that are there and stop making new ones! - So much for "land of the FREE!"