Cannabis Consumers Say No to Fake Pot Products

When it comes to the use of so-called «synthetic marijuana» products like Spice or K2, marijuana consumers tend to just say no. That’s according to the findings of a new Bowling Green University study published this month in the The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

Researchers surveyed 186 adults who had experience using both herbal cannabis and so-called «fake pot» products («herbal incense’ products sold at retail outlets that often contain the synthetic cannabinoid chemical agonist JWH-018 or some variation of it) and 181 subjects who had only consumed cannabis.

The results were hardly unexpected; cannabis consumers prefer the real thing.

“Individuals who have used marijuana and/or synthetic cannabinoids agreed more strongly with positive outcome expectancies for botanical marijuana than for synthetic cannabinoids,” authors reported. Conversely, respondents were more likely to express “negative outcome expectancies for synthetic cannabinoids than for botanical marijuana.”

Last spring, national media outlets reported a spike in hospitalizations attributed to the consumption of «synthetic marijuana« retail products.

Nonetheless, the substances remain popular with a minority of users, primarily because – unlike marijuana – the synthetic chemicals typically won’t show up positive on a drug test.

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