Wednesday, December 9, 2009
On a recent weekend afternoon, I came across a peculiar sight: a line of high school and college-age kids sneaking out the front door of Sacred Journey, an herb shop located in downtown Lawrence.
Three teenagers, probably no older than 15 or 16, stepped out of the store with a little plastic baggie containing a curious-looking green, leafy substance. They grinned broadly and held it up for the customers in line to see. Around the corner, a few more young customers were huddled in a doorway sampling their latest purchase.
Did I miss something? Had marijuana been legalized while I was sleeping off last night’s hangover? Not quite.
These adolescents had procured a few grams of K2, a kind of synthetic marijuana that yields many of the same effects as pot but doesn’t show up on drug tests and — for the time being — is perfectly legal.
The state government will outlaw K2 soon enough, but maybe we should take a step back to consider the advantages of this legal quasi-pot.
According to the handful of people I questioned who have tried K2, most people who bought the new product were marijuana users, and K2 has been gaining popularity as a substitute for marijuana. It’s cheaper and far less risky to acquire and use.
K2 helps the local economy, too. The new product is most likely supplied by some clever Lawrence entrepreneur rather than the shady underground drug market linked to the Mexican cartels. A lot of the money that many of our fellow students pay for pot ends up in the hands of unsavory organizations such as La Familia Michoacana.
Of course, I wasn’t enthused about the conspicuous embrace of the new drug that I witnessed. For the majority of Americans to support the legalization of marijuana and drugs like it, consumers need to show that they will be able to use it responsibly. Stupid behavior gives only ammunition to proponents of drug prohibition.
Decades of failed drug policy has proven that the government can’t eliminate the demand for drugs by criminalizing their sale and use. In this way, demand for drugs can never be eliminated. Just as the government manages tobacco use and alcohol use, it should do the same with marijuana by keeping it out of the hands of minors, regulating its production and educating the public about its effects.
More and more Americans seem to agree with this position. A Zogby poll released last May found that 52 percent of Americans favor treating marijuana as a legal, taxed and regulated substance. An October Gallup poll found that 44 percent of Americans are in favor of legalization.
As legalization in some form appears increasingly likely, we need to consider what that would look like. K2 gives us a glimpse of the benefits and the drawbacks of homegrown weed.
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Comments
Thompson: Marijuana’s legal substitute
I traveled out to Lawrence from St Joe, MO to procure some of this fine substance. IMO it probably should be outlawed, but with a catch. That we legalize marijuana. Let me explain...
Marijuana has been smoked for thousands of years, and can you tell me the number of deaths attributed to the smoking of this plant? None is the correct answer.
K2 just came out and we know nothing about it. However it's legal and we will turn to it because of this fact. K2 could be the most harmful thing ever to our bodies and we will do it because we can't get in trouble for it and it's easily accesible.
It's wonderful for getting money out of the hands of criminals but the end all solution is to fully legalize marijuana.
Thompson: Marijuana’s legal substitute
Amen, rosettastoned. People know way more about marijuana than K2. Unfortunately, the government has spent the last 60-70 years using what we know about marijuana to keep it illegal. Their campaigns of misinformation have ensured that public opinion is against the legalization of what many consider to be a safer drug than alcohol or tobacco.
I'd say we should study K2 some more, it may have it's place.
Thompson: Marijuana’s legal substitute
"Had marijuana been legalized while I was sleeping off last night’s hangover?"
"For the majority of Americans to support the legalization of marijuana and drugs like it, consumers need to show that they will be able to use it responsibly."
Drinking yourself to a hangover doesn't sound like a responsible use of alcohol. Maybe we should take alcohol away from you? You pose more risk to yourself and others by drinking yourself silly than a bunch of stoners ever will.
Thompson: Marijuana’s legal substitute
Wow. My apologies. I realize that I just misrepresented your entire argument.
Good article.
Thompson: Marijuana’s legal substitute
K2 can slowly make you blind... Other than than the bad taste I would say that it is a great alternative for people who are afraid of getting charged with possession. Sacrificing health for any thing seems silly, but if you are going to smoke marijuana is the way to go.
Thompson: Marijuana’s legal substitute
they say so many things about this. iv seen people get sick right after smoking. not yet confirmed that its because of that. yet, in olathe ks. were 20 mins away from herbs, and its huge out here every single stoner knows about k2. and personally im making bank off of it cause i got it cheaper than lawrence. but to end a great story. k2 is going to be illegal soon. very soon. stock up. i got 5thousand bags in surpluss what u got.
Thompson: Marijuana’s legal substitute
My friends were shocked when I told them they weren't even buying legit k2. There are actually only 4 original k2 blends: K2 Summit, K2 Blonde, K2 Ultra, and K2 Sex. The rest i.e. Rasta, Blue, Strawberry, Peach, amongst a ton of others, are counterfeit. I found a long list here: http://www.k2incense.org. It's knowledge worth passing on if you know anyone who uses this stuff....
Thompson: Marijuana’s legal substitute
It is absurd that marijuana is still pretty much illegal in this day and age. Now they are chasing down this K2 herbal incense stuff. Where will it end?? It won't. Do you know why? It's a never ending freaking cycle! There are constantly new formulations of K2 incense coming out to get around these ridiculous bans which are trying to get around the ban on marijuana in the first place. Why do we have to be up in each other's business? This is supposed to be the land of the free and it is hardly that! If someone wants to buy k2 they will. After all the effort they have been putting into banning this stuff, http://www.k2incenseblend.com is still able to offer legal k2 incense products. I told you. Wasted money. Wasted efforts.
Thompson: Marijuana’s legal substitute
Legislators would be better off legalizing marijuana. If marijuana were made legal, there would not be this void that needed filled and which is being filled with unregulated chemicals which really have no research done on them. This hunt that lawmakers and law enforcement are on is one which will never come to an end. They can ban k2 incense blends all they want, but places like http://www.buyherbalincense.com offer legal everywhere herbal incense blends. People will buy k2 incense for as long as there are legal options.
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