A survey study to characterize use of Spice products (synthetic cannabinoids)

Abstract

Background Synthetic cannabinoids are a rapidly emerging class of abused drugs. Synthetic cannabinoids are typically sold as “herbal blends” or “incense,” commonly referred to as Spice products. No controlled human experiments have been conducted on the effects of Spice products or the synthetic cannabinoids they often contain. Methods An internet-based survey study was conducted with adults reporting at least one lifetime use of a Spice product. Results Respondents were primarily male, Caucasian and ≥12 yrs of education. Use of other psychoactive drugs was common, though 21% identified Spice products as their preferred drug. Spice products were most frequently obtained from retail vendors and smoked, though other forms of ingestion were endorsed. Mean age of first use was 26 and mean frequency of use in the past year was 67 days (range 0–365). Primary reasons for use were curiosity, positive drug effect, relaxation, and to get high without having a positive drug test. Acute subjective effects were similar to known effects of cannabis, and a subset of users met DSM criteria for abuse and dependence on Spice products. Conclusions Participants exhibited a diverse profile of use patterns as is typical for other drugs of abuse. There was evidence that users continued to seek and use these drugs after being banned by local authorities. This study should be interpreted with caution due to methodological limitations. Controlled laboratory research is needed to further examine the behavioral pharmacology of individual synthetic cannabinoids found in Spice products.

Uyuşturucu Maddelerde Yeni Trend Sentetik Kannabinoidler

“…Tolerans oldukça hızlı gelişmekte olup, bunun göreceli olarak yüksek bağımlılık potansiyeli ile ilişkili olduğu düşünülmektedir. Yoksunluk sendromu; iç huzursuzluk, yoğun terleme, aşırı madde isteği, tremor, baş ağrısı, kabuslar, uykusuzluk, iritabilite, konsantrasyon güçlüğü, bulantı ve depresyon olarak tariflenmiştir (13,20).…”

“…İnternet temelli bir çalışmada, kullanıcıların çoğunun maddeyi perakende satıcılardan ("head shop", benzin istasyonları/marketler gibi), internetten ya da arkadaşlarından temin etmesine karşın sadece çok küçük bir oranın (%2) yasadışı uyuşturucu satıcılarından elde ettiklerini ortaya koymuştur (13).…”

“…(10) SK içeren maddeler genel olarak, yurtdışında "Spice", "K2", Türkiye'de ise "Bonzai" ya da "Jamaika" olarak adlandırılmaktadır (2). SK genelde sigara şeklinde içilse de (pipo, sigara ya da nargile aracılığı ile), buharlaştırma, oral veya rektal kullanım da bildirilmiştir (13). Damar içine enjeksiyon veya burundan çekme gibi uygulamalar rapor edilmemiştir (10).…”

Emergency Service Bonzai Of Patients Presenting With Use Socio - Demographic Characteristics Evaluated Retrospectively

“…Sentetik kannabinoid kullanımı sonrasında nefes darlığı, kusma, taşikardi, bradikardi, göğüs ağrısı, hipertansiyon, myokard enfarktüsü, anksiyete, psikoz ve akut böbrek yetmezliği gibi bulgu ve klinik tablolar ortaya çıkmaktadır (8) . Oldukça yeni olmalarından ötürü bu konuyla ilgili çalışmalar halihazırda oldukça yetersizdir (3) .…”

Capgras syndrome after use of synthetic cannabinoids: an adolescent case

“…Currently, number of studies investigating the effects of these substances on the body and also their psychoactive effects are increasing in number both in the world and in our country (2,5,(9)(10)(11). The commonly observed psychoactive effects are anxiety, agitation, irritability, confusion, hallucinations, and delusions (2,10,11).…”