Cannabis VS Synthetic Cannabinoids

Cannabis VS synthetic cannabinoids; a healthy comparison between natural cannabinoids and synthetic cannabinoids made in a lab.

Those little “legal cannabis” packets are well known, but they have absolutely nothing to do with cannabis and they’re not really legal either, as the chemical cannabinoids used them are generally swiftly made illegal. Many people come to our shops asking about synthetic cannabinoids, which we don’t sell, and it’s quite surprising the amount of people that actually ask for them. They might now know what they’re smoking, or it might just be a fad, but we’ve done some investigating and things aren’t exactly what they appear to be.

Anything that can be bound to our natural cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, is considered a cannabinoid; from anandamides that we naturally produce to chemical components that can also bind to these receptors and that imitate effects of hash or cannabis.

Natural cannabinoids exist and are found in Cannabis Sativa plants, which are phytocannabinoids, and then there are synthetic cannabinoids that are created in labs by taking the original cannabinoid cell structure and switching it out with chemicals that fit. There are many available and more being made all the time, and they’re periodically added to the list of illegal substances; to keep selling them they’re simply modified and given another name.

They tend to have quite a potent effect by copying the structure of natural cannabinoids, but they soon realized that shape had a lot to do with potency and they began creating enormous, patented cannabinoids that are different shapes than natural cannabinoids produced by plants. They can be up to 100 times more powerful than THC like a synthetic cannabinoid called HU-210.

Natural cannabinoids are produced in natural plants and have been doing so for years now; they’ve been studied more and more recently in an attempt to find treatments for many different illnesses, and you can even grow it at home! (Legally in some places, not so legally in others.) Synthetic cannabinoids are made in labs and haven’t been tested on humans for long-term effects, so it’s impossible to predict the exact effect they have and how they can affect your body. 

You’ve probably seen synthetic cannabinoids a few times by now; they tend to come in little packets and are branded with names such as Monkey and Spice, which is how people generally refer to synthetic cannabinoids, and they’re sold as air fresheners but of course this is to get around the legality of people smoking them.

Many people say that they’re a mix of natural materials but they’ve been analyzed, and the effect given doesn’t come from any herb rather than synthetic chemicals that are added to the herbs in order to mix it with tobacco and smoke it.

These “magical” herbs are legal until they’re made illegal, a process that can take two years, so it’s as easy as modifying one component and giving it a different name. This means that more and more of them come on to the market regularly but they aren’t even tested on people.

I’ve personally tried synthetic cannabinoids and I can tell you right now that I didn’t enjoy the experience at all. I had a few tokes and the effect was if I had smoked two full hash blunts, I almost instantly got a whitey. I absolutely hated the experience, apart from the fact that it tasted terrible. I’d much rather smoke a bud joint filled with seeds than ever try synthetic cannabinoids again.

Some consumers that have taken too many synthetic cannabinoids have even ended up in hospital, and it was discovered that there wasn’t enough blood reaching the patients’ hearts as well as other issues. It’s thought that synthetic cannabinoids leave residue in the brain, as well as causing addiction.

Of course, everyone is free to do what they want but if you compare those synthetic cannabinoids with the worst natural cannabis out there it will still be ten times better than smoking something when you don’t know exactly what it contains.

Author: Javier Chinesta
Translator: Ciara Murphy