Set the Volcano to toastify, it’s time for tonight’s collection of Gizmodo’s best high-times material for the discerning viewer. So sit back, relax, and pass that shit on the left, yo.
Whaddya Mean Spice Doesn’t Let me Transcend Time and Space?
Synthetic Marijuana, more commonly known overseas as K2 or Spice, is a psychoactive designer drug created to mimic the effects of weed when smoked but to affect the body in a different way than THC.
From what we understand, all synthetic options like this are illegal in Australia.
According to manufacturers, the product is made from mixing multiple natural herbs to achieve the desired effect. However, when a German lab anaylzed a sample, it detected large amounts of synthetic tocopherol but not many of the plants listed on the label. And in actuality, many of the chemicals used in Spice were created in a Clemson University lab in the mid-1990s.
Spice has been sold since the early 2000’s in the US as well as in Europe and at one time, Australia. However its legal status is quickly falling away overseas as well. As of March, 2011, several “strains” of Spice have been outlawed in the US and several others have been scheduled for review. The chemical HU-211, for example, has been classified as a schedule-1 drug, that’s a felony for possessing any amount. It’s been banned by the Armed Forces and drug tests have already been devised to recognise it.
All this kerfuffle is on account of “…a surge in emergency-room visits and calls to poison-control centers” among Spice users, according to the DEA. Their symptoms included “seizures, hallucinations, paranoid behaviour, agitation, anxiety, nausea, vomiting, racing heartbeat, and elevated blood pressure.” So yes, a bit more than the conventional munchies and bouts of giggling.
“I want to stress that these compounds were not meant for human consumption,” John W. Huffman, a research professor in organic chemistry at Clemson University, wrote an in e-mail to the Daily Press. “Their effects in humans have not been studied, and they could very well have toxic effects. They absolutely should not be used as recreational drugs.” [Spice Wiki – Daily Press – The Augusta Chronicle – Image: Diane Mathews, Daily Press]
He’s Not Dead, He’s Resting
Chain Surfing Dog
This video comes to us from reader Tyler H and begs the question, “is it me or is the guy filming it really high?”
I Almost Died Watching This Crazy Guy Ride His Dirt Bike on a Snowy Mountain Ridge
Wow, it combines my fear of falling off a motorcycle and my fear of falling off a cliff. A win-win!
Ride of the Century
Why yes, that is a man standing backwards on a speeding motorcycle while taking phone pictures
Trippy Animation Courtesy of Anthony Francisco Schepperd
If this happens to you, take caution! You’ve just unwittingly smoked Spice!
And no, for the last time, we aren’t interested in seeing your wicked buds Jerry. Stop it or we’re calling the fuzz.
Image: Curtis Barnard / Shutterstock