Synthetic Cannabinoids: Factsheet - Positive Choices

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Synthetic Cannabinoids: Factsheet Home TeachersSynthetic Cannabinoids: Factsheet

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Tags: K2, spice, kronic, herbal smoking blends Targeted Drugs: Cannabis Bronze

This resource has undergone expert review.

Resource Overview

Attachments

Emerging Drugs: Detailed Resource (for Parents/Teachers): Download attachment

Time Allocated

Partial lesson (under 45mins)

Origin

Australian

Cost

Free

What are Synthetic Cannabinoids?

Synthetic cannabinoids are drugs that are often sold as a ‘legal’ alternative to cannabis. They claim to have similar effects. They are often sold as ‘herbal smoking blends’ with different brand names, such as ‘K2’, ‘Spice’, and ‘Kronic’. Even though these blends are often sold in stores or online and marketed as ‘legal’ and ‘safe’, many contain ingredients that are actually illegal and potentially very dangerous.

Usually these blends are plant material that have been sprayed with one or more active chemicals so that, when smoked, they mimic some of the effects of cannabis. As the active ingredients used are often synthetic and produced in laboratories, they are neither ‘herbal’ nor ‘natural’. Instead these drugs are designed to be stronger than traditional cannabis, and therefore may pose a greater risk.

Blends often contain a mixture of different active ingredients, despite being sold under the same brand name. In addition to this, ingredients can change as different substances are made illegal, although the brand name may stay the same. So buying the same brand twice doesn't mean that the contents will be the same and therefore the effects may be different.

What are the effects of Synthetic Cannabinoids?

Like other new psychoactive substances, taking these is like a roll of the dice, and the immediate and long-term effects are still unknown.

The effects of synthetic cannabinoids can vary depending on the ingredients of the product. Effects can be immediate or long-term, as listed in the table below.

Immediate	Long-term
Drowsiness	Early information suggests that use of some synthetic cannabinoids may lead to a range of problems including:
Enlarged pupils	Dependence (see glossary)
Paranoia	Withdrawal symptoms when usage is ceased
Agitation	Memory problems
Irritability	Paranoia (feeling extremely suspicious and frightened)
Memory changes	Psychosis
Confusion
Sedation or loss of consciousness
Panic attacks
Very rapid heartbeat or irregular heartbeat
Slowing down of heart rate
Chest pain
Extreme anxiety
Nausea
Vomiting
Appetite changes
Seizures and convulsions

Evidence Base

This factsheet was developed following expert review by researchers at the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, The University of Sydney, the National Drug & Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW. See detailed attachment for a list of sources for this information.

Print friendly version Subscribe to get updates Share this I found this resource helpful 6 people like this resource Tweet Post Page last reviewed: 16/06/2025

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