Germany Outlaws New Drug ‘Spice’
January 22nd, 2009 by Alex
Nope, I’m not talking about Sporty, Posh, Scary, Baby or Ginger – instead, Germany has outlawed anything having to do with the synthetic drug Spice. That means the production, sale and possession of this marijuana-like drug.
Marketed as a herbal room-freshener, Spice grew in popularity because the substance doesn’t contain cannabis and was unaffected by German anti-drug laws. Of course, anything the public can get legally that will cause pot-like effects is going to see a growth in sales.
Germany’s Drug Commissioner Sabine Baetzing announced her intentions to ban this drug in late 2008 due to the negative health effects studies have shown it to cause. Now it’s official.
Baetzing said:
Tests have shown that smoking the drug can cause undesirable side affects on the heart, circulation and nervous system, in some cases leading to unconsciousness. There is also a danger of addiction.
Let’s make it clear, any synthetic street drug is going to damage your body. In this case, Spice was found to contain the synthetic substance JHW-018, which can be up to 4 times more powerful than THC.
This ban is a modification to the Controlled Substances Act, and Germany has now joined Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands in regulating the use of Spice.
