Sara Jongeward: Fight The Use Of Deadly K2 By Legalizing Marijuana

[bobandtorey]

There is no doubt that K2 is dangerous. Those who smoke K2 frequently hallucinate, have seizures or panic attacks and experience homicidal thoughts. They become paranoid, disoriented and violent. Sold as a "pot substitute," the highs may be similar but the side effects of the synthetic drug can be deadly.

Despite the dangers, K2 is legal on the federal level, perhaps because it is difficult to regulate. K2 packaging often describes the contents as "not for human consumption," though no other uses are listed, and the products are recorded on receipts as tobacco. As for what chemicals are used to emulate the coveted tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) high that you get from good ol' mary jane, who knows?

There is no way of knowing what chemicals are used or of holding the companies accountable, because there is often no contact information on the packaging. And once one synthetic THC chemical is banned, like the 2010 statewide ban that prohibited the sale of several chemical compounds commonly found in spice and K2 products, manufacturers quickly develop similar chemicals, which go untested before they're sold to the public.

So now, with Gov. Rick Snyder signing off on a statewide ban of the synthetic cannabinoid, whom do I squarely blame for the existence of such a dangerous, unregulated, untested drug?

I blame the federal government, which time and time again has passed up the chance to legalize and tax a profitable and much safer drug: marijuana.

There is absolutely no way that a drug like K2 would even exist if marijuana were legal. K2's three main draws (its legality, its accessibility and its inability to be detected in drug tests) would be nullified.

If marijuana were legal, it wouldn't be tested for in drug tests. It would be regulated by the government, grown by professionals, and sold by reputable dispensaries; there would be no question which chemical was the cause of your high.

It just doesn't make sense that state and local governments should be responsible and pay tax dollars to regulate K2 when a city like Detroit is so strapped for money that it can't afford to provide streetlights to all its neighborhoods. And I'm pleased that Detroit will be voting to legalize marijuana in its August primary; if the law passes, Detroit could serve as an excellent example of a city that thrives with legalized marijuana use, which could lead to a push for federal legalization.

There may be fewer drug dealers. There may be less drug-related violence. There may be fewer kids who feel inclined to do drugs, because they are so accessible. It may take away the appeal of harder drugs, because not only are they more dangerous, but they would now be illegal in a way that pot, the so-called gateway drug, is not.

And to those who argue that marijuana is habit forming and bad for your lungs and brain function; you're right. It is. I can't argue with you on that. But nicotine and alcohol are both physically addictive, which marijuana is not. Despite this, they are legal. And regulated. And taxed.

K2 is an insidious fake that exists only to replace a natural drug that has little to no side effects. When will lawmakers look past the unwarranted stigma surrounding marijuana and see that by keeping it illegal, they are paving the way for more dangerous drugs to exist under its guise?

http://www.freep.com/article/20120621/OPINION01/206210422/Editorial-Sara-Jongeward-Fight-the-use-of-deadly-K2-by-legalizing-marijuana