Be happy now because tomorrow you are dying (Spice, K2)

Marijuana is an interesting drug. It’s mostly harmless. People under twenty one shouldn’t be consuming it recreationally because there can be some negative long term effects on the developing brain, and I’d advise anyone who has issues with schizophrenia or bipolar in their family history from consuming it because of it’s ability to activate a psychotic and/or manic episode. Other than that, go ahead. I’d personally advise edibles because smoking it isn’t necessarily the best for your lungs. There’s an argument for smoking because it’s easier to control your dosage… but that’s for another day.

Synthetic marijuana on the other hand is something completely different. It goes many names. Spice, K2, Scooby Snax, relaxing potpourri. You’re able to smoke it, and it won’t show up in a drug test. That seems pretty cool huh? I say this as a professional: I’d rather see you smoking crack cocaine than Spice. Spice is the most bizarre recreational substance I’ve ever encountered. While it’s based off synthetic cannabinoids, and an assortment of mystery ingredients thrown in for ‘flavor’, its effects are quite closer to the fictional Substance D. For those who haven’t read A Scanner Darkly,

“Substance D. “D” is dumbness, and despair, desertion-desertion of you from your friends, your friends from you, everyone from everyone. Isolation and loneliness… and hating and suspecting each other, “D” is finally death. Slow death from the head down. Well… that’s it.”

It is not the same as marijuana. Spice is pulled from an alternate reality where Reefer Madness actually makes sense. It’s dreadful when I have a client who cannot stop abusing it. They’re nothing short of volatile; they have an inability to commit to any kind of treatment and every time they try to sober up again they look like they’re closer and closer to death. Watching someone deep into a heroin addiction is less unsettling. A heroin addict at least looks neutral when they’re strung out. Someone hitting the spice hard is terrifying

My first experience with it was when I was still in college. There were cool designer drugs being sold at sleazy gas stations and porno shops like Molly’s Plant Food, which was an MDMA analog, and Xannies which were quite literally catnip pills. There was also the first generation of publicly available spice. The first generation was interesting, I even tried it and while it didn’t feel as good as marijuana I was okay with it. A friend of mine, Derek, was more into it than me.  He had chronic pain issues from an unknown disorder, and the spice would make it so he wouldn’t feel any pain. Marijuana wasn’t strong enough, and he stayed away from painkillers so I didn’t think much about it. The first generation was banned and another took its place. He kept smoking away, and one night he offered it to me so I gave it a try. Jesus Fucking Christ it was the worst experience of my life. I swore to never smoke it again, but thought if other people wanted to do that it’s up to them. It’s their life.

            Then I watched Derek’s health decline. It started with the narcoleptic episodes. He’d be doing something like playing his Xbox 360, and would pass out. His hand would be on the controller, and his character would be constantly running into a wall. He’d come to around 20 minutes later and continue like nothing happened. As time went on, he changed. When he was high, he wasn’t any more fun to be around. There was this anger that came with it, and it would radiate out and kill any positive vibes around him. Communication would be grunts and stares. Then he’d smoke more and pass out. This at the time was an isolated incident. I barely heard anything more about it until later in life when I got into the substance abuse field. Here’s three case studies:

·       Lewis was my first spice client. In his words, “I’m a former crackhead, but I still use spice.” As we were talking, I asked him why he had a cast on his arm. He told me when he was out panhandling on the median of a busy road. He smoked some spice, forgot where he was, and ended up walking into traffic and getting hit by a car. He later self-discharged from the facility before he could be set up with more services. Months later he requested to be admitted to my unit again. When I met with him, he was shivering in 90 degree weather. His eyes were sunken in, and he didn’t even recognize me. He was transferred to a Crisis Stabilization Unit later that night because he wanted to end his own life. He told a member of the staff, “I can’t live without spice, and I can’t live with it either.” I don’t know where he is now.

·       If I needed to find Daniel in the community, I’d drive around and look for guys passed out on the sidewalk. He had pretty severe sunburns from lying on the ground all day, as well as scraped skin as his buddies would attempt to drag him into the shade. He was stuck in a cycle where He’d ‘lose’ his wallet. He would need help getting a new EBT card and ID. He’d swear he’s getting off spice and going back to school. This was every week that I had the pleasure of working with him.

·       Ahab is my favorite. The poor kid had a traumatic brain injury when he was a teenager, and according to his family he stopped maturing at that point. He was older than me but had the mind of a 15 year old. When he was introduced to spice, any potential he had left went down the drain. He was in and out of jail for trespassing in the same area. I took the time to map out his arrest locations and he was trespassed fifteen times from trying to spend his time in the same spot smoking spice.  His hobbies were smoking spice and chronic masturbation. He literally had no filter and would say whatever came to mind. He had no ability to keep a conversation on a single topic, and was highly suggestible. I watched the nurse have some fun with that. He constantly had issues with others and needed to be redirected daily. Psychotropic medication curbed his violent aspects, but he was resistant toward taking it in the first place. During a time where he was refusing his meds he picked a fight with a guy twice his size, and was hospitalized from how badly he was beaten. He was convinced he won that fight. He’s been in and out of jail, and inmates win every fight they participate in, no matter the outcome. That may have some influence, but you could see the pride he had in his eyes when he talked about ‘winning’ that fight while barely being able to open his swollen eyes

For those who think I’m scare-mongering, I say you need to see the population abusing it. I believe it’s possible to live a successful life with most drugs involved, but not spice.

“Spray a bug with a toxin and it dies; spray a man, spray his brain, and he becomes an insect that clacks and vibrates about in a closed circle forever. A reflex machine, like an ant. Repeating his last instruction.”

Do not smoke spice, don’t let your friends do spice. Do something better and more productive, like shooting up heroin.