“Spiceophrenia”: can synthetic cannabinoids cause psychosis?

3 out of 5 stars “Spiceophrenia”: a systematic overview of “Spice”-related psychopathological issues and a case report. Papanti D et al.  Hum Psychopharmacol 2013;28:379-389. Abstract The authors of this paper performed a systematic review of medical literature related to synthetic cannabinoids such as “Spice” and “K2″and psychotic syndromes or symptoms such as hallucinations. They found 41 relevant papers eligible for review. Although the data had numerous limitations, it did support the notion that use of synthetic cannabinoids was associated with development or continuation of psychotic features in some patients. The authors do make some interesting observations along the way: One of the substances in marijuana — cannabidiol (CBD) — has anxiolytic and antipsychotic properties. Some high-potency marijuana strains — such as “skunk” — contain 12-18% THC but little or no CBD. Unlike the partial-agonist THC, the synthetic cannabinoids, which are  full agonists at the CB-1 and CB-2 receptors and do not contain CBD, and thus more potent than marijuana itself. Aside from the well-known labels “Spice” and ‘K2″, some of the synthetic cannabinoid products consumed by patients presented in the literature surveyed included “Mojo,” “Banana Cream Nuke,” “Bonzai,” “SpicyXXX,’ “Jungle Mystic Incense,” and “Monkees Go Bananas Tropi...
Source: The Poison Review - Category: Toxicology Authors: Tags: Medical cannabidiol K2 marijuana psychosis spice synthetic cannabinoid THC Source Type: news