Cannabis isn’t a controlled drug, it’s an illegal one. The practical upshot of this is street supplies are contaminated and, it seems, an ever more regular basis.
The first mass scare we were aware of of course was “soap bar”, adulterated hash. Then came microscopic glass beads sprayed into herbal cannabis, recently we heard of lead shot being added and now we have the latest reports of contamination: Liquid containing homosildenafil and thiohomosildenafil – which belong to the same class of ‘erectogenic’ chemicals as sildenafil – more commonly known as Viagra.
UKCIA first heard rumours of this a couple of weeks back but we’ve just had proper confirmation as it’s reported in the recent article in Forensic Science International – for which New Scientist (1/11/08) gives the reference DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2008.09.002 – by Dries de Kaste et al, at the National Institute of Public Health & the Environment in the Netherlands.
The wrote:
Is cannabis being doped with Viagra?
New Scientist
Thursday 30 Oct 2008THAT illegal drugs are not always pure is no surprise, but is cannabis being laced with a Viagra-like compound?
Dries de Kaste and colleagues at the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven, the Netherlands, analysed a liquid that police found being sold on the streets of Utrecht as a “marijuana adulterant”.
They found compounds called homosildenafil (HS) and thiohomosildenafil (THS) in it, which belong to the same class of compounds as sildenafil, sold as Viagra. All three inhibit the breakdown of an enzyme that dilates blood vessels in the penis, increasing blood flow.
De Kaste does not know why HS and THS are being added to cannabis, but speculates that it could be to enhance the uptake of its psychoactive constituents, or to exploit a perception that marijuana use affects libido.
HS and THS were not destroyed when they were “smoked” using a laboratory simulator
(Forensic Science International, DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2008.09.002). The health effects of inhaling such “erectogenics” – and the compounds they produce when burned – are unknown.
This paper seems to be online on the Forensic Science International website, but is only available to subscribers and it seems impossible to even obtain the abstract.
Now whatever the dangers of cannabis may or may not be, clearly adding an unknown risk like this isn’t going to reduce those dangers. We can only speculate whether our own government is aware of this issue and why they see fit not to warn the millions of cannabis users that could be affected by it.
Why isn’t this information made public? Well, of course if the government made it known that prohibition was putting peoples lives at risk in the way that it is, perhaps people would start to complain about the stupidity of the policy that creates such a situation. That’s why they keep quiet.
Is it clearly visible when this weed has been tampered with, ie how would one know besides feeling a rumble downstairs?
maybe you will get a stiff neck!!!
If you chew a small piece, if it crunches or tastes sweet or sour (Like lemon juice) then it has been tampered with. When smoked it will also be quite harsh on the throut.
In my area we have seen almost every type, glass beads, green powder paint, the lot, its a nightmare.
The police and government seem to think the crack down on cannabis is helping. Unfortunately like every drug prohibition law, it causes the streets to be flooded with dangerous tampered versions.
This in turn causes a worse health epedemic, than the drug itself!
I am sure you would know if the cannabis had been tampered with. Surely you would feel very relaxed but buzzing from the effects of the viagra?
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