The College Fix

Although alcohol remains Duke students’ drug of choice, some undergraduates have recently experimented with a new, “legal weed.”

K2—also known as spice, genie and zohal—is a leafy green, synthetic drug said to have effects similar to marijuana. Often marketed as incense, the drug began appearing in U.S. tobacco shops and convenience stores in late 2009.

Serious concerns about the drug have emerged in the last year after more than 500 reports were made to poison control centers across the country, according to The (Raleigh) News & Observer. Side effects have allegedly included hallucinations, elevated heart rates, vomiting and seizures.

Despite a warning label noting the product is not meant for human consumption, college students have reportedly been smoking K2 in dorm rooms across the country.

“Something you’re not supposed to smoke”

Students say that though some of their peers have experimented with the drug, few have become regular users—its reputation as an alternative to marijuana may not be deserved.

“I think a lot more people were doing it last year,” said sophomore Will Chappell. “They were trying to give it a chance because they didn’t really know what it was.”

Smoking K2 as a substitute for marijuana has left some students disappointed. Chappell said K2 is “nowhere near as good as weed” and that he experienced an “angry high” from the drug that put him in a bad mood. Sophomore Scott Spencer said K2 had “a bad psychological effect” on him and made him feel paranoid.

Read the full story at the Duke Chronicle.

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