Clairmont Griffith, Bernice La France* and Horace Griffith
Marijuana (Cannabis) is considered the most commonly used illegal psychoactive drug in the world. Despite being regarded as a "soft" drug by experts for a long time, research has demonstrated that there are adverse addictive and psychiatric effects related to its use. Numerous elements are attributed with the mounting complications associated with the use of Cannabis, which include a gradual evolution in the proportions between tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), the two major chemical compounds contained in Marijuana. This gradual evolution has been towards higher proportions of Δ9-THC. In the recent past, there has been an emergence of smokable synthetic herbal products that contain synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) in what appears to be a new trend in the landscape of psychoactive substances use. The uptake of these SCs has progressed rapidly among individuals who frequently use Cannabis owing to comparable psychoactive effects in SCs to Cannabis. Nevertheless, their pharmacological properties and composition make them dangerous elements. This paper investigates how synthetic marijuana (K2) mimics the effects of the naturally occurring chemical found in Δ9-THC.
