As the ‘Spice’ epidemic grips parts of the UK, users reveal what it’s like to take the former legal high
IT’S a highly addictive drug which causes seizures, psychotic episodes and can even kill.
This particular strain of cannabis, sometimes known as ‘fake weed’, is said to give the user withdrawal symptoms even worse than heroin and crack cocaine.
So why are people continuing to run the risk of smoking spice?
Here, users of the drug reveal what it feels like to be high on the drug – and whether they would recommend it to a friend.
After one lad took to Reddit, admitting , dozens of people spoke out about their own experiences – with very mixed results.
Overall the group agreed it was an extremely strong drug, with one or two puffs being enough, and that it could be hallucinogenic – which was cited as both a positive and negative.
‘It can seriously f*** you over, but the high is ridiculously good’
One user warned: “It is INCREDIBLY, INCREDIBLY potent. It was more like a mild psychedelic to be honest. I seriously cannot stress enough how strong this drug is.
“It is very addictive. It causes withdrawals. I smoked so much of it that I started getting incredibly bad pain in my lungs.
“I had a TERRIBLE cough and I would cough up black stuff. I knew it was very bad for me but I kept smoking regardless.
“This is not a drug to toy with, it is addictive and can seriously f*** you over. With all that said, the high is ridiculously good.”
‘It ruined my appetite’
Empty Houses added: “It makes it impossible to eat without smoking beforehand. It's a weird feeling being really hungry but somehow unable to eat.
“It destroyed my appetite to the point where I would sometime actually be physically sick.”
‘It causes seizures and heart problems’
Malice Mello warned: “Not a good idea, I had a seizure in the middle of class from smoking spice right before my second period, and I have never touched that s*** since.
“Also my close friend has had a heart problems and was also rushed to the hospital.”
Max Hol 99 agreed, adding: “Yeah that s*** speeds up your heart rate like a motherf*****. I thought I was going to have a heart attack after one bowl.”
‘My least favourite high ever’
Taylor Tot 52 said: “I was left with one of my least favourite highs ever. I did not enjoy it. Though my friend loves it. He used it to get around drug tests and such.”
The side effects (from users’ own experiences):
Highly addictive
Horrible hangovers and withdrawal symptoms
Seizures
Heart problems
Painful lungs
Loss of appetite
Dizziness
Feeling nauseated.
‘Too dangerous and addictive’
The aptly-named Drugzz was, perhaps surprisingly, not an advocate of the drug.
He said: “I personally wouldn't smoke any synthetic cannabinoids. I've seen too many adverse reactions to the drugs.
“The way I see it is if you are so desperate to get high that you start smoking spice then you got bigger problems to handle.
“Also spice withdrawals can be a royal b**** to get through.”
‘You never know what you’re going to get’
Experienced user Borax warned: “Some cannabinoids are quite nice, some are awful. If you don’t know what’s in your blend, steer well clear.
“They will all provide nice experiences at low doses but it’s not too hard to push it too far and then they become unpleasant. This is coming from a very pro-drugs community too.”
‘It’s safe enough, but I prefer weed’
Another commenter said: “I've smoked K2 a couple of times. Wasn't nearly as enjoyable as marijuana but never had any negative experiences either. Keep the dosage low and you should be fine.”
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‘I was insanely dizzy and nauseated… the worst experience of my life’
DJ Wub Wub completely disagreed, writing: “I smoked spice about two years ago and it was one of the worst experiences of my life.
“It made me insanely dizzy and nauseated. I could barely speak or move and when I did I felt like was on the worst roller coaster ever.
“I was seeing things and I was just generally not a happy camper.”
‘I loved it, but the hangover is horrible’
Another bloke said: “Personally I find it very enjoyable! I did it a few weeks ago and I loved it, I tripped my balls off.
“BUT you never can know what types of chemicals are on it.
“For all we know the producers just spray some herbs with an upside down can of compressed air – so it's kinda sketchy.
“Also every time I've done it, I have a horrible hangover. I just feel really stupid and I have a headache and I want to sleep.”