Synthetic Marijuana: Physiological and Social Factors

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Abstract

Synthetic marijuana usage and bad reactions to it have increased among young adults in the United States since 2008, resulting in a significant spike in emergency department visits. Young adults’ future will be ruined due to the use of synthetic marijuana. The young adults cannot concentrate on executing their duties well as they have become addicts. However, case study as a type of research has been used widely in this report. There has been little critical analysis of medication to assist healthcare practitioners in educating the public about the drug’s detrimental health impacts. With good guidance and counseling through family, friends and close relatives, young adults in the United States can be helped to regain their form of life. This paper explores the historical background of synthetic marijuana, the age groups, commercial names, street names, and common forms of drug use and abuse. In addition, the paper will focus on the physiological factors (withdrawal symptoms), and social factors – drug classification, intervention, treatment, and summary of synthetic marijuana.

Historical Background

Between 1988 and 1995, the ingredients used to produce synthetic marijuana were found for the first time. Synthetic marijuana first appeared in the United States of America in 2008 (Vera et al., 2020). In the year 2010, the United States drug enforcement administration incorporated emergency powers to control the chemicals used to make synthetic marijuana. The raw materials for synthetic marijuana were CP 47, 497, HU-2010, and JWH-018 (Vera et al., 2020). Due to the efforts of the United States administration, a law was passed in 2012 to ban the three chemicals that are raw materials for producing synthetic marijuana.

Immediately after the ban of the three chemicals by the law in 2012, underground chemists developed other alternative chemicals to simulate the synthetic marijuana effects. The two chemicals created by underground chemists were UR-144 and XLR11, but when they were discovered in 2013, they were made illegal and proscribed (Vera, Bernstein & Lee, 2020). The chemicals were forbidden not because they were illegal but due to their toxicity level and being unsafe for human consumption.

Age Group that Uses Synthetic Marijuana

The report generated by Drug and Alcohol Dependence article in the year 2010 showed that the majority of the people who used synthetic marijuana were between the ages of 12 to 29 (Keyes et al., 2016). The report was made after the individuals’ emergency department (ED) visits involving synthetic marijuana. Other age groups were compared, as shown in table 1 below. But then, the age group of 12 to 29 had more visits to the emergency department than the other age groups. Reasonably, males dominate the age groups of those using synthetic marijuana more than the females gender.

Table 1: Statistics showing the age group that uses Synthetic marijuana most in USA. Adapted from Age, period, and cohort effects in synthetic cannabinoid use among US adolescents, 2011–2015. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, by Keyes et al., 2016, 166, 159-167.

Age group	Emergency department visits	Rate per 100,000 population
12 – 17	3,780	14.9
18 – 20	1,881	13.9
21 – 24	2,022	11.8
25 – 29	873	4.1
total	8,557	11.1

The table 1 above shows the different age groups with the number of visits by the emergency department. The number of visits confirms the number of the affected group who always uses synthetic drugs, thus seeking treatment on how to end the menace of the use of the drug. Sensibly, this drug has no medical cure, but with proper rehabilitation that will involve guidance and counseling, the youths aged 12 to 29 will be able to stop.

Commercial Names

Synthetic marijuana has been used privately, even with the ban of the chemicals used to make the substance. Commercial names such as K2 and spice have been used for marketing the substance, and buyers have been buying it for an extended period. Reasonably, the standard terms are known to be illegal to use, and thus the sellers have to find an alternative to make their products being bought by the buyers. Hence, K2 and spice are friendlier to use than the synthetic marijuana name.

Street Names

Street names for synthetic marijuana are used by street residents and those who use the substance. It is a familiar name to a few people who always use the drug so that it cannot be detected. Reasonably, if the drug is noticed, the street residents will find it difficult to use it freely. Examples of street names include Bliss, Black Mamba, Blaze, Bombay Blue, Fake Weed, Legal Weed, Genie, Zohai, Red X, Dawn Scooby Skunk, Snax.

Typical Forms of Synthetic Marijuana and the Ways it Can Be Taken

Synthetic marijuana has many forms that different people understand and use. Forms of marijuana that contain high doses of active ingredients that make a person lose body function include sinsemilla, hashish, and raisins like hash oil, wax, and shatter. Some states have legalized the use of marijuana as they purport it has some medical value that can help an ailing person. It is not scientifically proven, but still, people say it is legalized to gain market to sell to the buyers or the users.

Smoking dried plant material is the most popular way to use synthetic marijuana. It is familiar to many users as they can afford the substance in its dry state than purchasing it. Similarly, it is more difficult for people to use the drug the way it is than to buy it since it is difficult to obtain it, as it is not legalized. Users can also make tea from the sprayed plant material by mixing it with marijuana. It is considered adequate among the users as they cannot be noticed. Other users purchase synthetic cannabis liquids to use in e-cigarettes. Some people use a vape pen to vaporize marijuana, while others still use pipes and bubblers and roll joints, spliffs, and cigars (called blunts).

Physiological Factors (Withdrawal Symptoms)

Due to the many chemicals that are used to make synthetic marijuana, there are different signs and symptoms among those who abuse the drug. The symptoms are felt among the people, as their usual ways will change from how they used to do their work in the past (Hur et al., 2021). Reasonably, the chemicals aforementioned in this essay have diverse effects on the human brain as the cell receptors are affected to the point one cannot think usually. The drug has different symptoms, including behavioral signs, physical symptoms, cognitive symptoms, and psychosocial symptoms.

Behavioral Symptom

Frequent Absences from Work

The users of synthetic marijuana might start behaving so differently in such a way that they do not report to work. They can still register to work, but their duties will not be complete or effectively discharging their obligations well. Similarly, they will sneak out of their workplaces to go and use the drug, as they cannot work even an hour without using it (Hur et al., 2021). The frequent use of the drug makes these users addicted and most of them cannot skip a day without using the medicine.

Physical Symptoms

Headaches

Synthetic marijuana affects the brain by destroying the cell receptors of the human brain. When the cell receptors are destroyed, it frequently paves the way for severe headaches. The signals are destroyed, thus making it difficult for the user to function well (Hur et al., 2021). The user will not be at peace, and even if the users use the painkillers, it will be difficult for them to recover.

Cognitive Symptom

Hallucinations

Users of synthetic marijuana experience things that are not true. The users imagine owning properties out of their reaches such as big houses and expensive cars. They also feel like things are crawling up their bodies when in essence, there is nothing (Hur et al., 2021). In addition, the users of synthetic marijuana report items that are not there and misinterpreting things that do not exist in the environment.

Social Factors – Identify Schedule of Drug(S) Classification

Income, education, work, and community support are among the social factors influencing synthetic marijuana use. People that take the substance are more likely to be financially unstable and thus have poor living standards. Similarly, drug users are rarely hired when it comes to employment because employers do not want to risk their company by hiring people who will not bring value. Furthermore, drug users will not work with other community members to support them since they are constantly thinking about things that are not real. Synthetic marijuana users, on the whole, do not have a pleasant social life.

Intervention

It is never lost to a human being as different resources can be used to ensure that a person can regain their previous form of life. The addict’s closest friends can prepare to have a meeting together with the family of the drug addict. In the forum, they will discuss how they can intervene and help one of their own. They will draft all the intervention measures that need to be implemented. Equally, they will make sure that there is oneness so that there are no family disputes. After the meeting, one of the friends will invite the addict, and then they will counsel the person. Counseling an addict until they come back to their senses is not easy, but with determination and a goal, they will find their way back to life.

Treatment

Rehabilitation will help the addict plan life afresh again without drugs. A rehabilitation center can only help treat synthetic marijuana, as there is no medication for the drug (Robbins, Saunders & Kilmer, 2017). The counselors will help the addicts to discover themselves, and after that, they will be ambassadors assisting others in abstaining from using the drugs. In addition, rehabilitation will help the addicts connect well with friends, families, and their loved ones, thus reclaiming the lost glory.

Summary

Synthetic marijuana is not a suitable substance for human consumption as it affects the human brain. When the human brain is affected, especially for youths the ages 12 to 29, as discussed in this paper, their future will be ruined. They will have no good social factors such as income, employment, and community support. Equally, they will be considered liabilities in society or their places of work, thus not getting what they deserve in life. However, there is hope for the addicts through a rehabilitation center for synthetic marijuana. Sagaciously, the rehabilitation centers, through good counsel, will help the addicts to restore their form of life, thus beginning afresh but with good plans.

References

Hur, K. H., Ma, S. X., Lee, B. R., Ko, Y. H., Seo, J. Y., Ryu, H. W.,… & Jang, C. G. (2021). The abuse potential of synthetic cannabinoids: AM-1248, CB-13, and PB-22. Biomolecules & Therapeutics, 29(4), 384. Web.

Keyes, K., Rutherford, C., Hamilton, A., & Palamar, J. (2016). Age, period, and cohort effects in synthetic cannabinoid use among US adolescents, 2011–2015. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 166, 159-167.

Robbins, M. W., Saunders, J., & Kilmer, B. (2017). A framework for synthetic control methods with high-dimensional, micro-level data: Evaluating a neighborhood-specific crime intervention. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 112(517), 109-126. Web.

Vera, L., Bernstein, K., & Lee, S. (2020). Historical and current perspectives of synthetic marijuana: critical review. Journal of Addictions Nursing, 31(2), 85-91. Web.

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