Sherri Phengchard and the Enquirer-Journal have a three-part story on the availability of spice in dear old Waxhaw. Spice (and other products sold under different names) are sold as incense, but are laced with JWH-018 (or another variant), a synthetic cannabinoid that was originally developed for medical research. I'd describe it as a "chemical variant of marijuana."
Links to the articles, if they're still accessible, are here:
Part 1: The SPICE High: NC, Waxhaw battle new legal drug
Part 2: Local leaders' hands tied in fight against 'Spice'
Part 3: Legislators plan best approach to battle ‘Spice’
They're all worth reading.
The short and sweet of it if you're too lazy to read the articles: Southport Gift Shop, among other businesses in the state, is legally selling the incense. Certain people are suspected of not staying beholden to the package warnings and smoking the stuff à la marijuana.
Other certain people, including Patte Kennedy of Southsiders fame, are up in arms about the impending disaster because of what's going on and what this predicament might do to our fair town.
But after reading the articles, there appears to be no evidence of a spice epidemic destroying the town's youths. The series makes clear that some of the state's pols are hard at work to make these chemical variants of marijuana illegal, so I suspect those concerned with this matter will find acceptable closure in the near future. Until there's evidence to suggest that a significant ongoing problem is underway, this seems like much ado about nothing, and as such I see no need for town officials to get involved despite the entreaties of certain people.
I would be curious to know if any local high schoolers are actually smoking this stuff or have heard of peers who are. My suspicion: weed is far more prevalent than spice. If anyone wants to comment and provide some insight into what young folks think of the stuff or its use, feel free to add a comment.
Also, if anyone can offer a educated opinion on the price of spice compared to the price of modern-day marijuana, I would be very curious about that as well. It seems rather expensive based on the prices I could dig up, so I'd be a little surprised to find it could attract high schoolers by undercutting marijuana prices.
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Spices has been around for a while. Many states have tried to make it illegal but failed. I doesn't get you as high as cannabis and is a weak substitute. High schooler smoke weed unless they have to pass a drug test, that's where spice steps in. It is huge in the military because you won't pop on a drug test. If america would just legalize cannabis, people wouldn't have to use these extremely dangerous alternatives. Synthetic cocaine is on the market too, and I assure you it will be hitting the town soon. You will have something else to write about haha. On my blackberry so sorry for any mistakes.
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