Beware of artificial pot. A lot of people believe marijuana is a very safe drug. And to a certain extent, it can be safer than cocaine and many other street drugs. As a result, many people believe that artificial marijuana should also be safe. Simply put, nothing could be further from the truth. Natural marijuana gains its mind-altering effects from a chemical known as THC. Synthetic marijuana on the other hand, called Spice or K2, is coated with synthetic cannabinoids - a family that include over 700 research chemicals.

Drugs and other items sold as artificial marijuana are not even close to natural marijuana. They are chemicals synthesized in labs. They have a vague structural similarity to THC, so they can work on the same receptors in the brain, but many of them have devastating effects on other parts of the brain and the body.

In the last few years, we have heard reports of people using artificial marijuana becoming psychotic, delusional, and losing complete touch with reality. A friend of mine had a nephew who had to be hospitalized for weeks before he came back to reality. And, lately, there have been many reports of people dying in different parts of the country from a new form of artificial marijuana. This new form of artificial pot affects the body's blood clotting system. It thins the blood like rat poison, thereby causing the blood to flow very freely and not allowing the blood to clot. Users can begin to spontaneously bleed all over their body. They frequently die from brain hemorrhages or with their lungs filling up with blood.

Artificial pot is extremely dangerous. Hopefully, this message can reach out to anyone tempted to or considering using artificial pot.