So extracting hash oil by whatever means, (which also has the effect of reducing the number of "cannabinoid-like chemicals" and increasing the concentration of others), also has "nothing to do with actual Marijuana? Some crystallized (6aR,10aR)-6,6,9-Trimethyl-3-pentyl-6a,7,8,10a-tetrahydro-6H-benzo[c]chromen-1-ol extracted from Marijuana has nothing to do with Marijuana? Citric acid has nothing to do with actual citrus fruits? Accepting plant biochemistry is very complex, it all gets to be rather Zen this way. Also, one might be a wee-bit wary of how self-promoting Dr Marcu is, (most PhDs don't run around wearing lab coats on day time television)

Sounds like the NY Times is just recycling another "Bogus Drug Scare" story from 5 years ago.
http://www.newsweek.com/k2-scary-drug-or…

Maybe they think they can get away with it since Jack Shafer no longer writes for Slate.

@1
Synthetic cannabis isn't hash oil.

@2

Spend some time in an ER. The synthetic MJ stuff is really bad. It's regulatory arbitrage because the DEA bans specific chemicals so if the chemical is just slightly tweeked to stay off the band list it is legal until analyzed and outlawed. People are being harmed and good hits don't protect against bad hits in the future because the actual active chemical changes with each batch.

This is an effect of drug prohibition. Without prohibition and the banned list none of the potentially harmful synthetics would exist.

The bestest meth, the coolest hallucinogen and the strongest heroin, all in a cheap, legal, sweet-smelling shiny package. Never had a drug problem until I went looking for a high where I didn't have to break the law. Synthetics are bad, mmmmkay? Big high five to what gomer said ^^^.

PS, I eventually ordered my JWH's (5 different isomers total) direct from a chemist, so I knew exactly what I was getting. (I'm also a neuroscientist trained in receptor pharmacology, and I had read all the papers, so I should have known better).

@1, not sure what you're getting at, but THC and the minor cannabinoids from marijuana are partial agonists at the same receptors that JWH synthetics are FULL agonists at, and have a different binding profile at anandamide receptors (more CB1 and less CB2) and almost zero interaction with other receptors. Synthetics, besides their crazy high agonism at CB receptors, also have a strong glutamate and dopamine effect (hence the crazy stimulation) and good opiate binding profiles (the anesthesia/analgesia is amazeballs!).

@2, that article doesn't say much, except that we have very little epidemiological data, which is very true. I however am glad that the JWHs are illegal. Some of the scariest shit I've ever encountered. And the potential for abuse is very VERY high. However, I'll concede that aside from the crushing anxiety, scary paralysis and near-seizures one gets from overdosing, it's probably neither deadly nor toxic.

Vice had an episode about this. They're not made in a basement lab, they're made in high-tech if dirty looking Chinese factories.

Suddenly I want green-tinted Rice Krispies treats.