95% of the gummies and vapes in the hemp stores/smoke shops contain synthetic cannabinoids.
— Kevin McKernan (@Kevin_McKernan) March 31, 2025
Reminds me of moonshine and methanol. https://t.co/HH8r5C6Hwy
What to look for. Wikipedia alerts us a little.
Synthetic cannabinoids are a class of designer drugs that include various compounds, often with alphanumeric names. Some well-known examples are JWH-018, JWH-073, AM-2201, and CP-47,497, but there are many others, and new ones are continually being developed.
Here is a list of 27 products that contain synthetic cannabinoids. And here.
I wish this stuff were fiction,
Typically, synthetic cannabinoids are sprayed onto plant matter and are usually smoked, although they have also been ingested as a concentrated liquid form in the United States and United Kingdom since 2016. They have been marketed as herbal incense, or "herbal smoking blends", and sold under common names such as K2, spice, and synthetic marijuana. They are often labeled "not for human consumption" for liability defense. A large and complex variety of synthetic cannabinoids are designed in an attempt to avoid legal restrictions on cannabis, making synthetic cannabinoids designer drugs.
Most synthetic cannabinoids are agonists of the cannabinoid receptors. They have been designed to be similar to THC, the natural cannabinoid with the strongest binding affinity to the CB1 receptor, which is linked to the psychoactive effects or "high" of marijuana. These synthetic analogs often have greater binding affinity and greater potency to the CB1 receptors. There are several synthetic cannabinoid families (e.g., AM-xxx, CP-xx,xxx, HU-xx, JWH-xxx) which are classified by the creator of the substance (e.g., JWH stands for John W. Huffman), which can include several substances with different base structures such as classical cannabinoids and unrelated naphthoylindoles.
