There are lots of people in the world that enjoy smoking marijuana.  I know some, and by far and away most are pretty decent folk.  This is their fix of choice, yet it also happens to be illegal up here in Canada.  While the sentence for being caught (if it is even enforced) is nothing more than a slap on the wrist, the fact that it is a conviction under the criminal code does not sit well with me.  For the record, I do not partake personally.  I do not care for the smell, and although I have never reaped the benefits of the drugs’ euphoric sensations, I do not find myself craving the urge.

However, for those people of high moral fibre that wish to partake, but do not want to contravene the Criminal Code, there is a new drug quietly making the rounds in the United States and Canada.  It is called K2 – Summit and is sold in stores as incense.  It is also known as “Spice,” “Genie,” and “Zohai.”  It mimics marijuana’s effect on the brain, and it is completely legal.

K2 is produced in China and Korea.  It is a mixture of herbs and spices that is sprayed with a chemical compound that is similar to the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, THC.  The user can use it to roll a joint, or smoke it in a pipe, whatever tickles their fancy.  People have compared the effect as very similar to medical marijuana, yet noted that the buzz does not last as long.

While K2 may be legal – and for how long nobody knows – I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole.  The first reason is, obviously, that I do not care for any type of said drugs in my system.  The second reason is, do you really trust anything coming out of China?  These are the same people that substitute antifreeze for gylcerine because it is cheaper.  The same place where all the lead contamination comes from.  Given their shoddy control of things – putting drugs that came from China in my body just is not going to happen (as an aside, more and more legitimate pharmaceutical drugs are now being manufactured in China, which scares the living shit out of me).  Furthermore, this drug has not been tested on humans and God only knows what the potential side effects are.  In mice, K2 leads to partial paralysis, a temporary inablility to feel pain, and a lower body temperature.

In most of Europe, K2 is outlawed.  I think that within a year or two this drug will most certainly be banned in the United States.  Canada is typically slow to follow, so give us a few more years.