What was k2 made for

This means chemists studying cannabinoids have become unwitting participants in a growing synthetic cannabinoid drug epidemic with no signs of stopping. Makriyannis himself generated synthetic cannabinoids that served as blueprints for those later sold illegally.

Back then, the research seemed a bit more straightforward. Alexander Todd of the University of Manchester and Roger Adams from the Noyes Chemical Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign were building analogs to cannabis using organic compounds called terpenoids to try to tease apart the bioactive elements of the drug and the effects they had on the body. These two were the first to produce synthetic molecules that mimicked the effects of cannabis and to show that the compounds they made could have even greater physiological effects than marijuana.

He and others subsequently started to make synthetic compounds based on the structure of THC. Among the products created was Nabilone , an FDA-approved drug first developed by Eli Lilly that is designed to reduce brain signals that spur nausea and vomiting, typically in response to cancer treatments such as chemotherapy.

Pfizer was also in on the work to make marijuana-based painkillers, which led to what the company called non-classical cannabinoids. Pharmaceutical developers there made many of them, all of which had different effects on the body, depending on slight structural modifications.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse organized a meeting in of many of the leading cannabinoid researchers at the time to discuss what was known and still unknown about THC and its analogs. Not long after, a few of the scientists at the meeting, including Makriyannis, independently identified the structure of a nerve cell receptor , now called CB1, which responded to THC. It was the first cannabinoid receptor to be documented. A few years later, other researchers identified an additional cannabinoid receptor , CB2.

People who have used synthetic cannabinoids and have been taken to emergency rooms have shown severe effects including:. Yes, synthetic cannabinoids can be addictive. Regular users trying to quit may have the following withdrawal symptoms:. Behavioral therapies and medications have not specifically been tested for treatment of addiction to these products.

Health care providers should screen patients for possible co-occurring mental health conditions. An overdose occurs when a person uses too much of a drug and has a dangerous reaction that results in serious, harmful symptoms or death.

Use of synthetic cannabinoids can cause:. Deaths can also occur when dangerous synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, are added to the packaged mixture without the user knowing it. This publication is available for your use and may be reproduced in its entirety without permission from NIDA.

Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. Drug Topics. More Drug Topics. Quick Links. About NIDA.

What are synthetic cannabinoids? How Is Spice Made?. National Institute on Drug Abuse website. June 22, But though Spice products may contain dried plants like tea leaves , what makes them a drug are the synthetic man-made chemicals the plant material is coated with. This is not pharmaceutical grade anything. Even when officials do figure it out and make the chemicals illegal, the Spice makers just start using different chemicals.

Then whenever new laws make the new chemicals illegal, the producers change the chemicals again.