Use Of Legal, Synthetic Pot Called The Equivalent Of " Playing Russian Roulette"

For those who don't know it is not just some herbal mixture. It is a mix of herbs, which would do absolutely nothing, except maybe make the user cough, if it was not also sprayed with a chemical developed by a researcher for pharmaceutical companies who wanted to do research on THC and how it works with the human body but couldn't because of the prohibitions against it. So rather than synthesizing THC he made a chemical equivalent. It isn't THC, heck in some ways it is like THC plus when one considers binding time with certain receptors.

It is a form of Russian roulette though because it isn't THC, it is some chemical that people are brewing up and others are smoking up. there is a reason the packets are labeled incense and such, since its a new, previously unknown, and certainly untested drug . It helps avoids liability when some person who has been smoking it develops a massive tumor in their lungs.

There is always the chance it will do nothing harmful at all, but since no one actually knows it isn't exactly smart to start blazing up.

Noted and seconded!

I thought almost all states were trying to find a way to increase tax revenue.....it kinda looks to me like they aren't really trying! Just legalize the real stuff, same rules and regulations as alcohol, and it would head off all this synthetic kill-you crap.

Anyone who allows anything synthetic into their bodies is asking for trouble

Overgeneralize much? Peach pits are perfectly natural, as is rattlesnake venom, salmonella, and botulin.

Overgeneralize? No. Synthetics have too many side effects and should be avoided whenever possible. Natural is a better way to go. I suppose common sense tells us not to ingest some natural things that have proved to harm us such as certain things you list.

So you use willow bark for pain and do not take aspirin? Eat moldy bread when you have a sinus infection instead of taking an antibiotic? Do you skip vaccinations?

You are overgeneralizing, I'm afraid. As Mencken famously said "for every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." "Avoid all synthetics is an example of such a policy.

medicating didn't say all things natural are okayand safe , but made a broad statement over synthetics. There is a difference. I will concede some things synthetic might be okay, MIGHT, but natural is probably often preferable. Many of our good pharmaceuticals have come from naturally occuring subtances that are toxic but used correctly and sometimes modified they can be good.

Many of our good pharmaceuticals have come from naturally occuring subtances

And the synthetic versions are often far, far more effective. Just the fact that a "natural product" has varying amounts of the active ingredients makes dosage problematic for them. A synthetic has a repeatable, known amount of the active compounds. Thus aspirin blows away willow bark for headaches, even though the salicylic acid in the former is made in a chemical plant, and penicillin is far more effective than moldy bread, and has fewer side effects.

It isn't a simple decision. I'd put synthetic vitamins on the opposite side of the equation, for example. All scientific evidence to date seems to indicate that it is far, far more effective to get your required vitamins and minerals the natural way, through diet, rather than by taking some synthetic pills. Weight loss is another area where "natural" treatments (eat less, eat right, and exercise) are far better than magic pills and potions (some of which claim to be "natural" I might add.)

Note the quotes around "natural" above. It is quite apparent that in the dietary supplements area, there are snake oil salesmen selling "natural" cures that are far worse for you than traditional synthetics, and really aren't all that natural to begin with anyway.

Not necessarily. I have a friend with severe Lupus, she has a prescription for marinol, a prescription that contains THC, not only is it very difficult to find where she lives because many pharmacies don't want to carry it, the real thing- marijauna is far more effective and WAY cheaper.

People definately need to consider safety when taking any drug, whether its an OTC, prescription, natural or synthetic. All can be abused and all can be dangerous, you should understand what you are putting into your body.

marijauna is far more effective and WAY cheaper

Got a double-blind clinical trial to back that up? I'll concede the cheaper part as obvious, but we are talking science when it comes to effectiveness, and that means you need to show rigorous evidence, not stories about your friends. Otherwise you are sharing an opinion, not facts.

AA, there are no double-blind clinical trials because people aren't allowed to conduct studies on marijuana because the DEA won't let anyone do it because it's an 'illegal druuuhhhg'. Stories about personal experience is all we have, and frankly I'll choose that over stories being pulled out of one's ass.

I understand and I back allowing those trials to move forward. Until, however, those trials are done, the claim that was made is unsupported and equivalent to a statement "pulled out of one's ass."

I'm all for doing the science and letting the chips fall where they may. Just realize that the trials are likely to come down on the side of the more predictable synthetic, just as they have for almost every other medication in existence.

Durn straight..... FDA approved mind altering substances for those who will pay for the nose for furrin @!$%#. Put america's money back in the social security fund.

Right!! LOL!!

The only logical reason is legality and drug tests.