Kids Turning to 'Spice' to Get High
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KCBS) - It's completely legal in California, there is no test to detect it, and it's become the drug of choice for many young people.
KCBS reporter Doug Sovern introduces us to the latest high, something the kids call 'Spice.'
Podcast
'Spice' is a blend of herbs and synthetic cannabinoids that simulates the active ingredient in real marijuana.
"It's like smoking marijuana," described one man. "Just not as strong and a little different."
Laura said it's incredibly popular, but it's just not for her. "It has like this weird like paranoid, jittery edge that it gave to me. I don't know if it does it to everybody, I've heard of other people that love it but for me it just made me feel like jumpy and jittery and it made me stutter."
Still, she sells it, in a Haight Street head shop. It's widely available under names like Serenity Now, Mr. Spicy or K2. It's not cheap - costing on average $40 for a 3-gram packet, but people who are subject to drug testing or cannot tolerate marijuana, are instead getting high on 'Spice.'
"Most of the customers that I see coming in here get it because they don't have the capability of smoking marijuana," explained Laura.
Some countries, and even a few U.S. states, have already banned 'Spice.' California has not.
