Fake Weed (Spice, Genie, K2) Getting Kids High, But There's Nothing Cops Can Do

By: Neil Katz
Topics: Daily Blotter

(AP Photo/Kelley McCall)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (CBS/A) It smokes like marijuana, gets users high like marijuana, it even sells at prices similar to marijuana – but a new blend of herbs and spices called K2 is completely legal and law enforcement is struggling to figure out how to handle it.

Photo: K2 is a popular brand of "fake pot."

"A 10-year-old child could walk into a head shop and buy it," said Shawn Rhoads, a police detective in West Plains, Mo. "It's not a tobacco, it's not regulated by anything. It would be like sending my 10-year-old son into Wal-Mart to buy potpourri."

The substance, often called "Spice," "Genie," or "Zohai" is sprayed with a synthetic compound chemically similar to THC and mostly made in China. It's smoked in joints or pipes, just like the real deal.

The key ingredients are believed to be the unintended result of scientific research.

Dr. John Huffman, a Clemson University organic chemistry professor, was researching the effects of cannabinoids on the brain when his work resulted in a 1995 paper that contained the method and ingredients used to make the compound. That recipe found its way to marijuana users, who replicated Huffman's work and began spraying it onto dried flowers, herbs and tobacco.

"People who use it are idiots," said Huffman, referring to K2 smokers.

It's banned in much of Europe, but not yet regulated in the States. That's likely to change. A Missouri bill seeks to make possession punishable by up to seven years in prison. A Kansas bill would make possession a misdemeanor, with up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. Both laws are identical to marijuana penalties in those states.

No real science yet on whether the substance is bad for you, although the DEA says in mice it can lead to a lower body temperature, partial paralysis and the temporary inability to feel pain, according to the DEA.

But does it lead to munchies? For now we don't know.

62 Comments +

Add a Comment

See all 62 Comments


by dred0219 May 8, 2012 4:58 AM EDT: what doesnt make any sense to me is.... why is everyone so hostile on here... we all are entidled to our own opinion... who in this world has the right to take that from you or tell you that your wrong.... personally i think that whatever happens happens with this stuff. why do you care what he says or she says. be yourself and just listen and add it to your knowlege. itll eventually make eveyones valit point near the same. your scared hes scared shes scared. hes mad shes mad your mad. hes happy shes sad your angry. see what im getting at here.....so stop with the stories and just wait till nature or some guy in a suite in a lab comes up with the studies for it. they always do. enough arguing. i dont know what it is or where it comes from. nore do you or she or he. him or her. it or thing. dog or cat. someone made it, secretively hid the ingrediants and now we gota figure it out. simple as that.; Reply to this comment


by gasmasker October 26, 2011 6:32 PM EDT: well theres a big arguement about weather or not the drug test they have can test for it is that true; Reply to this comment

by Dion44 October 9, 2011 12:28 AM EDT

Randy you are a ******* idiot.

Reply to this comment


by dred0219 May 8, 2012 5:02 AM EDT: see point prooven. why is he an idiot for living. hmmm? are you jelous? how bout this you have your opion he has his and you let it be. dont be such a di ck.


by randylovesyou September 15, 2011 9:03 PM EDT: This is so stupid. Spice has never given me munchies or anyone I know just fyi. It is ******* bad for you. I smoked it many times and twice I had to go to the hospital. I have really bad paranoia a lot. I almost lost my life to this ****. No one should act like its ohk to smoke. It says right on the label not for human consumption you MORONS!; Reply to this comment

by kelpierson August 15, 2011 2:04 PM EDT

For those of you who say that Spice is no big deal, tell that to the mother who has witnessed her teenager's first Spice induced grand mal seizure, and had to meet the ambulance at the local ER last week after he suffered four more back to back. Tell the mother who's child is currently in rehab due to Spice/synthetic weed addiction. (Yes, it really does exist).

Go ahead, tell her. I AM that mother. My child, who is barely 18, started smoking this poison in a pouch over a year ago. His health has declined rapidly, he has hallucinations, paranoia, and he has seizures when he smokes it. The addict in him says it's all a coincidence. And, because there have been no long term studies yet, he will probably suffer long term and permanent health issues because of this crap.

This junk is poison. It is sold in head shops, smoke shops and your local gas stations. It was sold to him at 16 and 17 years old - no questions asked. As fast as our state banned K2, manufacturers have come out with about 5 new versions. People HAVE died from this stuff and will continue to suffer and die from it. It needs to be banned completely!
For those out there who have suffered from this poison or know someone who has, please write your Congress Person and support H.R. 1254: Synthetic Drug Control Act of 2011. This bill will ban all synthetic drugs including synthetic marijuana as well as bath salts (synthetic cocaine).

Reply to this comment


by Dion44 October 9, 2011 12:29 AM EDT: You're an idiot. I have epilepsy and have had grand mal seizures before. It's not a big deal. Also the plants they use for spice and the chemical is NOT PHYSICALLY ADDICTIVE YOU RETARDED MOM. Go to hell

by kelpierson August 15, 2011 2:01 PM EDT

For those of you who say that Spice is no big deal, tell that to the mother who has witnessed her teenager's first Spice induced grand mal seizure, and had to meet the ambulance at the local ER last week after he suffered four more back to back. Tell the mother who's child is currently in rehab due to Spice/synthetic weed addiction. (Yes, it really does exist).

Go ahead, tell her. I AM that mother. My child, who is barely 18, started smoking this poison in a pouch over a year ago. His health has declined rapidly, he has hallucinations, paranoia, and he has seizures when he smokes it. The addict in him says it's all a coincidence. And, because there have been no long term studies yet, he will probably suffer long term and permanent health issues because of this crap.

This junk is poison. It is sold in head shops, smoke shops and your local gas stations. It was sold to him at 16 and 17 years old - no questions asked. As fast as our state banned K2, manufacturers have come out with about 5 new versions. People HAVE dies from this stuff and will continue to suffer and die from it. It needs to be banned completely!
For those out there who have suffered from this poison or know someone who has, please write your Congress Person and support H.R. 1254: Synthetic Drug Control Act of 2011. This bill will ban all synthetic drugs including synthetic marijuana as well as bath salts (synthetic cocaine).

Reply to this comment


by dred0219 May 8, 2012 4:48 AM EDT: hmm... your right on all counts.................i mean i guess by everyone getting on here and posting their horror stories about legal weed is gonna stop it right... i mean clearly the reality shows on mtv and cmtv and criminal law and all those channels are helping stop people do meth and coke and heroin.... you know the shows about the addicts... hmmm just sayin.... i mean if it feels better that you get your opinion out on the web maybe its a step to help. but legal or not people are still going to do it.... we all need to wake up its a new era and bout to just keep growing mk people. i mean look in the early 1900's when coke was introduced to the united states.... were still doing it.... so what im getting at is tell your loved ones what is really up and warn them.. that is as much as anyone can do. because this stuff is now and forever will be another well idk what to call it i guess substance on the streets


by ashbash584 March 29, 2011 1:27 PM EDT: Hmmm. They don't care about the American public in the least. They started banning K2 and other herbal incense products long before they actually started research on any possible side effects they may have. Please don't be fooled into thinking they care about our well-being. If that were so, they would just tear down the corrupt FDA and take out Big Pharma as they are the biggest toxin pushers! Provided there are age restrictions, if someone wants some k2 herb, who are you to tell them that they can't have it? If someone wants to, they will buy k2 smoke whether it's legal or not as that is what happens with anything else that is unjustly and ridiculously prohibited. K2 incense will be no different. Plus, the formulas are constantly changing. http://www.herbalk2incense.com offers several products that are legal all over the world.; Reply to this comment


by billykromer March 29, 2011 11:47 AM EDT: i think its fine. you can buy a bottle of asprin, take 15 of them and it will be your last headache. weed and or fake weed cant be any worse than all the man altered DRUGS put in medicine that you buy right off the shelf.; Reply to this comment


by manwhoisbobdole March 1, 2011 10:32 PM EST: This is so stupid! Look at the most drug taking are from dr and hospital sold by there prashants!because they dont need them dr just give that crap away to make money, people are mad because it makes people happy. Ever one smokes weed youll never stop that..if pot were properly regulated under "legalized" conditions we wouldn't have problems like K2< and the drug delers will go out of business. But ever head shop have to have IDs< so most definitely feel there should be age restrictions, as there are, with tobacco and alcohol products, but really, what do they hope to do take ever thing away from us.. A FREE american my AS#!!; Reply to this comment


by ashbash584 January 21, 2011 11:33 AM EST: Isn't it funny how you can go to the doctor and easily get a prescription for an endless amount of drugs that can lead to organ damage/failure or even death, yet the authorities are having a hissy fit over some fake weed. Okay, not funny. Infuriating. They waste so much time and money chasing stuff like this down. They are only adding to the huge overcrowding problem we currently have in American prisons. K2 incense has survived every ban thus far and you can buy k2 smoke products from these guys, http://www.k2incenseblend.com that aren't restricted by ANY current ban, so really, what exactly are they trying to achieve here???; Reply to this comment