A serious problem with the use of other substances in spices sold on the street is that users can become addicted to spices without being aware that until we adequately address the underlying issues that cause homelessness, drug use, including spice use, will never go away completely. At least one thing is certain, making spices illegal will never be the answer. The health effects of spice consumption can be extremely serious. A number of synthetic cannabinoid overdose deaths [3] have been reported. In addition, many users have also experienced negative effects such as nausea, vomiting, loss of consciousness, confusion, seizures, extreme anxiety, palpitations, paranoia, lung and cardiovascular problems, agitation, stroke and loss of motor control. But they are also in great danger. Synthetic cannabinoids, when abused, can cause tachycardia, high blood pressure, hallucinations, nausea and vomiting, seizures, memory changes, drowsiness, respiratory depression, acute anxiety, psychosis, and death. The effectiveness of these chemicals exceeds that of most recreational drugs, often by a factor of 100: an active dose of street heroin can be 100 to 200 mg and a typical line of cocaine can contain 75 to 100 mg, but most spice varieties are active at only 1 mg, making accurate dosing impossible. Addiction occurs when a user consumes spices repeatedly and their brain and body depend on the presence of certain amounts of active chemicals in that particular batch of spices to function normally. Once an addiction has developed, the absence of these chemicals from the system results in abnormal function of the affected parts of the brain and body. Various unpleasant and potentially dangerous symptoms can manifest themselves. They are collectively known as withdrawal syndrome.

Due to the illegal nature of spices and their relatively recent arrival as a recreational drug, research into its properties and mechanism of addiction is quite limited. In addition, the wide variety of different chemicals sold and marketed as “spices” (or other brand names) means that when a person becomes addicted to the drug, it is often very difficult for doctors to determine exactly what chemicals they consumed and what exactly caused the addiction. In many cases, it appears that various substances have been consumed regularly enough and in sufficient quantities to lead to the development of addiction. Someone with a spice addiction can be addicted to many chemicals at the same time. These new variants of the substance fell into the hands of users around the world, including the UK, even though the ban was imposed to limit the effects of legal euphoria. But according to Dr Olive Sutcliffe of Manchester Metropolitan University, people “don`t need a degree in chemistry to make spices”. Although the first synthetic cannabinoids were developed as early as the 1940s and some of the chemicals were used clinically from the 1980s onwards, it wasn`t until the beginning of the new millennium that they were generally used in recreation. Because they were chemically different from the active ingredients in cannabis, they were not technically illegal in the UK (and many other countries), and as a result, synthetic cannabinoids were sold in increasing quantities in stores across the country, with the launch of the Spice brand in early 2006.

The use of spices is not due to an individual moral failure of users. If this were the case, its use would be visible in all strata of society. Rather, it is a natural and inevitable – even rational – response to a systemic failure of welfare and drug laws, with poverty being the ultimate root. Spice is an attempt to solve a problem that most of us will never consider: how can I survive another day without doing anything and without hope of change? How can I navigate a world where my highest aspiration is to be invisible so as not to be a nuisance that I have to continue or be? In the end, what Spice tells us about our company is simple: if you make holes in a net, don`t be surprised if things fall by the wayside. When Spice first appeared in the UK, you could legally buy it in “head shops” where it was sold as a mixture of herbal smoke and as space incense. Originally, retailers circumvented the legal problem by labeling products unfit for human consumption. The teenager is now on a mission to help her friends get away from it. This summer, she`s planning a “spice free” barbecue with one rule: they can`t get high or be raised that day. However, with the damage caused by synthetic cannabinoids now clearly visible in the form of countless highly intoxicated users, the government decided to act decisively: the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 banned all psychoactive drugs. Including all those yet to be discovered, the list excludes only alcohol, tobacco and nicotine, caffeine, medicines and drugs, which are already regulated by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Before synthetic cannabinoids (along with various other so-called “research chemicals”) were made illegal in the UK in 2016, they were often known as “legal highs” and many different brands were produced and sold.

Many users continue to refer to synthetic cannabinoids with some of these old brand names, although they are generally no longer offered under these brands: in fact, spice consumers are often homeless, either in hostels or on the street. In Manchester, it is estimated that 95% of all homeless people use it. The Spice rose to prominence in British prisons in the late 2000s and early 2010s, where it could be easily smuggled, either dipped in letters, or passed through visitors. It was also ideal for avoiding mandatory drug testing in prison: most tests can`t detect it, and it lacks the familiar smoke of cannabis, so it can be smoked secretly. Unscrupulous manufacturers are also known to apply substances other than synthetic cannabinoids – including other recreational drugs and even various toxic household or industrial chemicals – to plant material, which is then sold as a spice. It is important to know that since 26 May 2016, the date of entry into force of the Psychoactive Substances Act, none of these medicines can be legally manufactured, supplied or imported for human consumption (including for personal use, e.g. via the Internet). But what is this substance and how did it appear? In 2006, an organic chemist named John Huffmann and colleagues at Clemson University in South Carolina published their research on new ways to develop anti-inflammatory drugs that involved making hundreds of synthetic cannabis compounds, including one called JWH-018.