Burglar targets “Spice”

An unknown male burglarized a downtown store last night, apparently with only one intention as he grabbed several packets of “Spice” products.

Here’s the blurb from today’s Crime Report:

Express Food Mart, 2010 Princess Anne St, 12/20 11:05 pm. Police responded to an alarm activation and found the front door with its glass broken out and items from the checkout counter strewn across the floor. The surveillance video showed a male suspect breaking the glass and entering the business, then stealing a number of containers of “Spice” products. The suspect was a black male wearing a light gray jacket with a hood, and the hood was pulled forward to conceal his face. The sleeves on the jacket were blue, with a white stripe going down each arm. The suspect was also wearing dark-colored baggy pants, tan work boots, and gloves. The investigation is ongoing.

Because of the danger of this product, the Police Department supports the emergency legislation to ban its sale and possession.

Here is a release from the American Association of Poison Control Centers, dated today, detailing concerns about the harmful effects of this substance.

Permalink: http://news.fredericksburg.com/citypolice/2010/12/21/burglar-targets-spice/

Liam Skye

The product “spice” is not known to be dangerous. The belief that it is dangerous is an urban legend and the legislation is based on hysteria.
reality check

Liam, you are an idiot. You are talking about a chemical that was produced to emulate the effects of THC. The chemical is then sprayed on “special” herbs, and smoked. Users report that one of the main after effects is a massive migrane headache. There are several medical reports available that show that people have had life threatening effects after smoking this garbage.
The “hysteria” is from people like you who believe that marijuana is safe, Xtacy has no ill effects, and that chemical dependancy is a good thing. I am sure that you would have a great time sitting down with Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and the Great O, tokin’ a little weed. You all have a lack of IQ points in common.
Robert

“reality check” you are very much exaggerating the effects of this drug.
“Users” as a whole do NOT report this. A VERY SMALL amount of users have reported this. Nearly every case of a user seeking medical assistance is when this herb has been COMBINED with other ILLEGAL substances.
I am not a user of this, I have never tried it nor have I ever seen it. After seeing the misleading newspaper stories I did a good bit of research.
These are the same politicians who continue to allow tobacco and alcohol sales at an alarming rate yet refuse to legalize marijuana.
You make an argument with no merit, facts or experience.
Watched son with life threatening side effects

I watched my son crawl to me with his eyes rolling in the back of his head, not able to speak and his heart pounding out of his chest. Paramedics came, ambulance ride and hospital visit. No he did not die. But he was hallucinating and is still having heart irregularity. His tox screen was clean. All from the legal substance. Some will say he did too much, some will say it is safe, some will say he is just weak. I have heard it all. And he swears it is addictive. The paramedics are getting regular calls on this stuff. It is poison. Not even close to the effects of marijuana.
So Liam, preach the not dangerous part, it is and will be illegal. Even if it stays legal, it is not a comparison of legal THC. And all parents need to make this clear to their kids. I watched my own nightmare with my son.
Watched son with life threatening side effects

Robert,
I researched as well. You say “Nearly every case of a user seeking medical assistance is when this herb has been COMBINED with other ILLEGAL substances.”. My son did not have any other illegal or legal substances in his system. People will do what people do, right or wrong, healthy or unhealthy. They even label it not for human consumption and say it is an incense. Not so. They sell this knowing what it is. Back to the legalizing marijuana. They haven’t so it is not relevant. This is not like marijuana. Research all you want. I watched the effects of one of the “VERY SMALL” few. My son has not had medical problems, was healthy. Bad choice maybe. Not an angel maybe. But this is serious. I realize that there are many things bad for us that are legal. This is different! My son did not think it was bad until he went through that. So research on you smart smart Robert.
nazbom

Alcohol is legal and regulated and look at the havoc it wreaks on society drunk driving, domestic violence, poor judgement and the list could go on and on. The “legal” age is laughable judging by the number of under age drinkers at most every college and even high school yet marijuana gets the bad rap. The worst that happens when you smoke too much is falling asleep, rarely does anyone feel like fighting or abusing another while under it’s influence. If one can tout the “responsible” use of alcohol with all its ill effects, why not marijuana? If that were the case then this scourge of “spice” and “K2″ would not be an issue. I do agree however once synthetic compounds are played with it’s a dangerous situation. I cannot believe pumping those man made chemicals in your body could not cause ill effects, for that matter one could drink gasoline for the high but suffer dearly from the consequences.
Robert

“watched my son with life threatening side effects”

There is an extremely RARE chance that what happened to your son could have happened without any other substance. Is he perhaps on antidepressants, anti anxiety medicine or adderall? Things that wouldn’t necessarily show up in a tox screen?
If used as directed and in responsible quantities what you described is virtually impossible.
My point is this – if kids are resorting to using DANGEROUS and legal substitutes for a NON DANGEROUS drug – why are politicians still so blind.
I am not a marijuana smoker. I am not a drug user. I am not a hippie. It makes zero sense that kids continue to use things that could potentially be dangerous because marijuana is illegal. Just legalize pot already. There are ZERO reports of overdosing on marijuana alone.
Robert

Oh – also, I forgot this tidbit. The primary chemical that makes one hallucinate in all of these “spice” mixtures is HU210. It used to be a chemical called JWH-018 or another JWH with a different synthesis and number at the end.
HU210 is what is sprayed or saturated into these herbal compounds. The funny thing about all of this panic is that the DEA released a report many years ago stating that HU210 was not dangerous at all and that in fact had antidepressant properties. It was scheduled as an illegal substance due largely in part to the euphoria.
This is a VERY common situation to the “SALVIA DIVINORUM” fiasco several years ago. Indians have been using salvia for years and years and years. As soon as idiot teenagers start smoking it and it gets mainstream idiot politicians outlaw it.
stacey

Legalize the safe, natural plants. Throw this junk out. I would much rather have a rebellious teen get the munchies then end up in the ER with a sick suffering kid.
jeff

Eyes rolling in the back of the head and hallucinations are the effects of MDMA, AKA ecstasy. K2 doesnt do that.
Rufus

Burglary is the issue. The man’s stupidity regarding the “spice”
junk ain’t the problem. Lock him up for 20 years, for the burglary.
opiniontoshare

Just because a substance gives one a feeling of euphoria doesn’t mean it should be legal. That’s not a justification.
Liam Skye

reality check: Your hyperbole would be amusing if your dissemination of false information were not so dangerous. You are not sufficiently informed on this topic to make the claims that you do. There are no peer reviewed studies of this substance whatsoever that indicate “life threatening effects.” It is precisely the type of hysteria displayed in your uninformed post that I refer to. You know nothing about these substances so you resort to exagerated rumors and urban legends.

You would do well to get yourself some education, learn about scientific studies and the standards under which they are conducted, and even go into the field of pharmacology if you are truly passionate about it. For now, you come across as an uniformed buffoon who uses his mouth more than his eyes and ears and who can not stick to the topic at hand – which is “spice” and not Ecstacy, marijuana, or chemical dependency. Try to keep up, eh? As for your mention of IQ, I’ll take mine over yours every day of the week – even if I give you a 50 point “head start.”
Liam Skye

Watched son…,

The legality or illegality of the substance does not speak to the dangers that may or may not be inherent in its use. While it may be argued that no substance is completely innocuous, there is simply no scientific evidence to support a claim that “spice” is unduly dangerous. Scientific evidence can not be made up – it has to come from a controlled study, and anecdotal evidence just doesn’t cut it. If it is desired to make illegal, then make it illegal, but spare me the lies and hysteria when it is done. I don’t have a vested interest in the issue itself since I don’t use any of the substances under discussion. I care only about upholding the standards of truth.

Frankly, your son’s symptoms are so far out of the ordinary for users of “spice” I have a strong suspicion that, while he might believe it was “spice,” it may well have been something else. This is the danger when substances are forced out of the mainstream into the shadowy netherworld of the black market. In any case, I hope he makes a full recovery and has gained some valuable wisdom and experience to help him make good decisions in the future.

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Burglar targets “Spice”