All You Need to Know About JWH018-K2: A Synthetic Marijuana
Topics
What is Synthetic Marijuana?
JWH018 is one of the complex kinds of synthetic cannabis or synthetic marijuana that is known by various brand names such as K2 and Spice which are sold behind names like "herbal incense" or "herbal smoking blends." While ill-treated as a designer drug that causes subjective effects and withdrawal symptoms same as synthetic cannabis, JWH018-K2 is now one of the top most forbidden drugs in the United States. Also referred to as "fake weed" in some other states, JWH018-K2 is primarily one of the 100 indoles, pyrroles, and indenes first synthesized by Professor John W. Huffman in Clemson University which is aimed to work as an analgesic. It is chemically known as (1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl) indole or Naphthalen-1-yl-(1-pentylindol-3-yl) methanone.
Basically, the JWH018 is a full agonist of both CB1 and CB2 which cause its effect to be more intense in contrast THC, which is just a partial agonist of cannabis. Although synthetic cannabis has been used for therapeutic purposes, JWH018 alters an addicted person's mindset and may cause extreme anxiety, seizures, and convulsions. This is simply because of GABA neurotransmission which are more effective compared to THC. JWH018 cannot be detected through typical immunoassay screening methods used in screening urine samples for cannabis positive but can be detected through two processes known as Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS or HPLC-MS). GC-MS uses the combination of gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to identify specific drug metabolites in a specimen while LC-MS is a prevailing technique used to identify positive drug metabolites in highly sensitive and selective applications by using a combination of liquid chromatography's physical separation capability to the mass spectrometry's analysis of the specimen's mass.
Health Studies About JWH018
Synthetic cannabinoids do not have original marijuana content, however; when smoked the inhibit even better effects than the original marijuana with approximately 4 times potency than the ordinary one, JWH018-K2 has caused several addictions in the United States. For instance, a survey conducted at Idaho Hospital Association (IHA) showed out of the 20 hospitals serving across the state, 11 have the knowledge of the drug Spice and K2 while there were more than 80 cases of Spice addiction have occurred during the months of February to August 2010. Government warns that "high" experience on smoking fumes with JWH018-K2 causes severe hazards to the cognitive and psychological aspects in an addicted person. JWH018-K2 along with JWH-073 and JWH-250 which are common in many cannabis smokes work by depressing the central nervous system through binding on CB1 receptors with 3-fold preference, hence; smoking at least 3 to 5 mg of JWH018-K2 everyday would alter human emotions, impair the ability to decide, and cause memory loss. In addition, various medical studies have shown that further abuse of JWH018-K2 may lead to extreme sedation which may end up to comma, euphoria, paranoia, and anxiety. Its creates a constricting effect to the cardiovascular system which includes faster heart rate which becomes life threatening as it leads to various possibilities such as heart attack and stroke. JWH018-K2 results to scarier withdrawal symptoms which includes tremors, nausea, diarrhea, and severe palpitations. Likewise, a person who smokes JWH018-K2 can be noticed by several physical change and effects such as bloodshot eyes and droopy eyelids associated with vibrant vision for colors, and suppressed respiratory functions. The following are few more negative effects to health due to long term abuse synthetic cannabinoids.
- Paranoia particularly fear on dying
- Anxiety attack
- Severe memory loss and dementia
- Severe disorientation
- Tachycardia
- Weight Loss
- Frequent Sickness
A JWH-018 or K2 addicted person may be noticeable through the following symptoms:
- Often times avoiding eye contacts with families, friends, and relatives and even other people.
- Clenching teeth as a sign of craving for the drug
- Frequent intake of water due to excessive thirst
- Becoming more deceitful or secretive in terms of money and whereabouts
- Disappearance for longer periods of time
- Decreased motivation or lost of goal
- Hyperactivity such as becoming more talkative and sporty for specific time span
- Lethargic
- Can be found staring at mid air and laughing at nothing
How Governments React to JWH018-K2
The reported Spice death at Indianapolis last 2010 have moved various states including Kansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah to outlaw JWH018-K2, which legislation took effect just this year. Particularly on March 1, 2011 five more types of cannabinoids have been considered illegal in the United States. Aside from JWH018-K2, some others include JWH-073, CP-47, 497, JWH-200, and cannabicyclohexanol.
The following table shows the legal status of JWH018-K2 and similar other drugs in selected countries.
| Name of Country | Date of Banning | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | December 18, 2008 | Austria banned the sale and distribution of "Spice" upon finding out a JWH018 mixture on it, however; some other herbal incense mixtures like "Spice Silver", "Spice Gold", "Spice Diamond", "Spice Arctic Synergy", "Spice Tropical Synergy", "Spice Egypt", "Spice Yucatan Fire" have remained available. |
| Canada | June 3, 2010 | JWH-018 and similar others are already covered in their Schedule 1 and 2 legislation. |
| France | February 24, 2009 | JWH018 -K2 is illegal. |
| Germany | January 22, 2009 | JWH018-K2 is considered to be completely illegal. |
| Ireland | May 11, 2010 | JWH018-K2 is immediately banned by the Minister for Health Mary Harney. |
| Polland | August 6, 2010 | JWH018-K2 as well as JWH007 is considered to be completely illegal. |
| Russia | January 22, 2010 | JWH018-K2 along with Am-HI-CO, Dream, Zoom, Ecstasy, Pep Spice, and Yucatan has been directly declared as controlled substances or illegal. |
| Sweden | October 1, 2010 | JWH-018 along with JWH-07 was banned after being identified as an ingredient in herbal synthetic cannabis. |
| United Kingdom | December 23 2009 | JWH-018 is covered under controlled substances after it was subject to parliamentary approval last 2010. |
| United States | March 1, 2011 | JWH-018 is placed under Schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Administration. |
Other Forms of JWH
JWH018-K2 got its name from its proponent John W. Huffman. It is manifested through its brown color that is usually lumpy, dry or sticky in nature. JWH018-K2 has many forms that also contain analgesic properties. The following are some examples and short description of the other forms of JWH.
| Name | Details |
|---|---|
| JWH-007 | A chemical derivative from naphthoylindole family, which has lower binding capability than JWH-018 of only 9.50nM at CB1 and 2.94nM at CB21. |
| JWH-015 | Considered to be a subtype-selective cannabinoid agonist which has a stronger binding capability in CB2 than in CB1. Proven to be functional in treating immunomodulatory effects. |
| JWH-018 | A full agonist to both CB1 and CB2 but with a little selectivity for CB2. |
| JWH-030 | A partial agonist at CB1 which entails only 50% potency compared to THC. |
| JWH-051 | Its structure is similar to the potent cannabinoid agonist HU-210 but has more affinity for CB1 than CB2. |
| JWH-073 | A partial agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors but with a little selectivity on CB1. |
| JWH-081 | Affinity is approximately 10 xs at CB2 and is fairly selective at CB1. |
| JWH-133 | A potently selective at approximately 200 x in CB2 which is known to prevent inflammation related to Alzheimer's disease such as Amyloid Beta. |
| JWH-147 | A cannabinoid agonist for both CB1 and CB2 with only a little selectivity on CB2. |
| JWH-200 | An analgesic chemical from aminoalkylindole family with potency almost the same as THC with a binding receptor 42nM on CB1. |
| JWH-203 | A less potent agonist with only 51.0nM affinity on CB1. |
| JWH-210 | An analgesic chemical from naphthoylindole family |
| JWH-250 | Considered as one of the most potent 4-substituted Naphthoyl derivatives in the naphthoylindole series with higher binding affinity at CB1. That is primarily harmful to health. |
| JWH-307 | A type of analgesic drug and agonist to both CB1 and CB2 with 7.7nM at CB1 and 3.3nM at CB2. |
| JWH-359 | Considered to be a type of dibenzopyran "classical" cannabinoid drug which is more selective at CB2. |
| JWH-398 | A type of analgesic chemical from naphthoylindole family which has only mild selectivity to both CB1 and CB2 receptors. |
Drug Testing / Screening for Synthetic Marijuana
Even though they are banned in various states especially in the United States, JWH018-K2 is still accessible in juvenile populations through the internet, head shops, and gas stations. With the alarming positivity of JWH, the drug testing kits have been proven helpful for a variety of drug treatment and criminal justice situation. The urine drug test is one effective means of testing the presence of JWH018-K2 and JWH-073 metabolites in urine for 3 to 4 days. This drug test even gives advantage by allowing 10 different drugs at one time. The presence of metabolites confirms the ingestion of synthetic cannabinoids. Due to the higher binding affinity of JWH018-K2 to the CB1 and CB2 receptors, particularly 9.00 +- 5.00 nM on CB1 and 2.94 +- 2.65 nM on CB2 with a binding affinity ratio of 3.06, its psychoactive effects within this hours can be detected through the hydroxylated and N-dealkylated metabolites at the alkyl side chain of the JWH018-K2 as a result of the hydroxylation of the indole ring and N-alkyl chain. Results usually show a glucuronidated monohydroxylated urinary metabolite as for JWH 018 4-hydroxyindole. The presence of JWH018-K2 can be detected through gas and liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry which follows the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) cut-off level for cannabis of 50 ng/ ML.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JWH-018http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20430547
