Now for those of you who are around 30 years old, or older, may remember a time when any average Joe could waltz right into your local gas station and purchase a product that was widely known as “spice”. This occured from roughly 2002-2012. Sometimes they might've asked for some identification, but back when I lived in Cleveland, it was like the Wild West. The cashier oftentimes seemed to not even know what the drug was, they would simply take your cash and give you the product.
The stronger stuff would cost about $10 more, and the package would usually have a black label. The product itself was very leafy, with what appeared to be stems as well from some sort of plants. The appearance overall was almost like a bad batch of dirt weed that used to circulate (back before almost all marijuana became so potent), and the smell was very strong (it was being sold as incense after all). For example, HU-210 is a synthetic cannabinoid that can be 100-800 times stronger than THC.
The first time I discovered this drug (technically a mixture of drugs usually) was when I bought a vehicle off of an old hippie friend. I went to his house to pick up the vehicle, and was surprised when he asked if I wanted to smoke. I knew he'd been on parole for a drug-related crime and couldn't smoke marijuana. However he informed me that this drug was similar to marijuana, only much stronger and didn't trigger drug tests. So naturally I agreed, and after two hard hits from a joint I began to really enjoy the buzz— it was like a really strong weed buzz with psychedelic undertones.
The high from those two hits lasted for probably an hour, roughly. I didn't feel any negative side effects, so I decided to try again with some other people I was talking with about it. However the brand must've been different than what I original tried, although it smelled and tasted the same. This time the high felt terrible; a strong headache accompanied most of the buzz. But I also went to an incredibly strange, and dark place mentally. The best way I can describe it is a long, very dark hallway with just a little light at the end to direct you which way to walk. That was the world I found myself in.
Now when I do psychedelic drugs, I don't want to go anywhere dark mentally, or visually. I like nice, colorful fun trips. So the outlawing of this drug, doesn't truly bother me that much— but for the sake of accurate and complete journalism, let's explore what exactly led to the drug becoming a controlled substance. So first off, spice is usually a mixture of different herbs and chemicals, sold as incense and mostly labeled (not for human consumption). So the endless mixture of chemicals and herbs are impossible to regulate and monitor. Then some companies were using brodifacoum in the product.
Now this is a rather large issue, as the Food and Drug administration would rightfully point out (which is rare). This is because brodifacoum is technically rat poison. Now, not every company who sold spice would use this, but enough did to make it noteworthy. All in all, this drug was likely bad news and deserved most of the bad press that it got— but it was a strange time to be a part of.