Kronic Test: Available from Drug Test Australia

Drug Test Australia now stocks testing kits for Synthetic Marijuana (Kronic).

This drug is widely used now in Australia by employees from all industries and sectors, with reports of growing popularity in the mining and fabrication sectors.

Employees use this drug in place of marijuana because it is widely believed to be 'non-detectable' in drug tests. Urine or Saliva.

This was true, until now.

Introducing the K2 Spice Test, a single dip cassette test, for use in urine testing that will detect synthetic Cannabinoids in human urine. These tests can be used on their own, or in conjunction with conventional urine test to effectively screen your workforce!

For more information, please contact us;
Website: www.drugtestaustralia.com.au
Phone: 1300 660 636
Email: sales@drugtestaustralia.com.au

New types of Synthetic Cannabis; Report

A new type of Synthetic Cannabis called 'Venom' was seized last week in Perth by West Australian Police. Typically, Synthetic Cannabinoids (marketed as 'legal highs', 'incense' or 'herbal highs') contain one or more compounds that mimic some effects of cannabis.

This report looks at this phenomenon in Australia, and attempts to offer information to provide a deeper understanding of the issues at play, and the trends that we are seeing in the local community and internationally.

Originally developed through research and then named for its developer John W. Huffman (JWH numbered compounds), the most common of which is named JWH-018. John Huffman professor emeritus of organic chemistry at Clemson University, beginning in 1984, developed many cannabinoid compounds to aid in medical research. It was not his wish that they be used for recreational purposes. HU-210 first synthesized in at Hebrew University in 1988 is purportedly up to 800 times the strength of natural THC from cannabis, a potent analgesic, it is one of the 8 other variants developed at this time. CP 47,497 developed by Pfizer in the 1980’s is another cannabinoid compound, developed for research. North-eastern University also synthesised cannabinoid compounds, listed as AM, such as AM-2201.

In later years, starting in Germany in 2003, these compounds began to be sold as marijuana alternatives. The laws in Australia vary from state to state, with some such as WA having a harsher standpoint.

They can currently in NSW be purchased from Tobacconists, Adult Stores and Online Retailers (in small or large quantities) among others. They are sold as herbal incense, and often come with a disclaimer, Warning; Not for human consumption.

Typically the synthetic compound is sold online in powder form, it is then combined with other ingredient  including organic materials to make a 'blend' of plant material/inert herbs, that is sold retail and wholesale both legally and illegally, that can be smoked by users, much like Marijuana.

In recent years, the laws have changed state to state, and online retailers will only send certain brands contain non-listed chemicals, to certain areas. A way of circumventing this law is through changing of the active ingredients.

JWH-018 and JWH-073 are some of the more common compounds used in these products to date.

New synthesized blends of this product, including the drugs seized in Perth, contained these two compounds, AM-2201 and XLR-11. XLR-11 is now banned under New Zealand law. 

THC (Marijuana) and Synthetic cannabis compounds designed to mimic its effects

Several types of synthetic compounds available online.

These chemical compounds can be bought on the Internet from companies claiming to reside in the US and elsewhere, and are sold as 'research chemicals'. They are then combined with organic materials and distributed under different brand names, by wholesalers and retailers nationally.

The part which makes it difficult to police, legislate and difficult to screen in workplace situations, is that these companies have a vested interest in keeping their products ‘legal’ and ahead of state and federal legislation. This means none of these products are very static, having to be regularly rebranded, and the ingredients slightly changed to keep up with legislation changes.

The effect has been that some brands of synthetic marijuana are being redeveloped with synthetic compounds that are not yet classified, or have not been seen before. For example AB-001, is a designer drug, we have no information on who developed it, but that was discovered to be used in synthetic smoking blends in Europe in 2010-2011.

In truth, these types of substances are available online to anyone that wants to purchase them, and will be sent to by post to anywhere that they are willing to be sent to, including major cities, small towns and remote mining locations, anywhere. Typical THC drug tests (urine or saliva) will NOT pick up these substances, though currently urine tests (such as K2 Spice) are available in Australia that are designed to screen for a range of these compounds.

Any person involved in Drug testing or drug education should keep up with the latest developments in drugs of abuse in the community. Only through informed discussion can gain a better, unbiased view of the current situation, and put in place measures to deal with these issues.

If you would like more information on this subject, please contact us at www.drugtestaustralia.com.au or email sales@drugtestaustralia.com.au or Phone 1300 660 636

Legalizing marijuana created a rippling effect

Posted by Drug Test Australia
Original at http://www.gazette.com/articles/marijuana-147208-rippling-created.html


Medical marijuana is packaged for sale in 1-gram packages at the Northwest Patient Resource Center medical marijuana dispensary, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012, in Seattle. After voters weighed in on election day, Colorado and Washington became the first states to allow possession of up to 1 oz. of legal pot for recreational use, but they are likely to face resistance from federal regulations.

The famous — or infamous, depending on your point of view — ballot measure legalizing marijuana in Tuesday’s election is already sending ripples through Colorado’s medical marijuana community.

Some medical marijuana dispensaries are worried, some aren't. Some dispensaries supported the ballot measure, some didn't.

But one thing is for sure — they've all gotten a lot more attention since the ballot measure has made national news.

“One centre owner I know said somebody from Chicago called up and asked if they could send them a pound in the mail,” said Jeff Sveinsson, the owner of Cannabicare, a medical marijuana dispensary near Peterson Air Force Base.

Tanya Garduno, president of the Colorado Springs Medical Cannabis Council, said her phone “has been ringing off the hook” with calls from centers all over Colorado.

Center owners, she said, are being hassled by people from not just Colorado Springs but by people from Durango, Pueblo, Denver and in other towns who want to buy pot.

“It’s pretty hilarious when I get those problems,” Garduno said. “Every centre has been swamped with calls, ‘Can I buy now?’ ‘No, you can’t.’ ”

Amendment 64, which Colorado voters approved Tuesday by a 55 percent margin, will allow individuals older than 21 to possess as much as an ounce of marijuana and grow as many as six marijuana plants. It will also allow retail marijuana stores to open in January 2014, after the Legislature enacts industry regulations.

Many people around the country haven’t read the fine print, though. Personal possession will only become legal after the governor proclaims the amendment part of the state Constitution, which may not happen until the governor’s deadline, Jan. 5.

That isn't just an annoyance, Sveinsson said. It points to a serious flaw in the amendment — the measure doesn’t specify whether only Colorado residents can buy recreational marijuana.

“We’ve had people calling our store all week long who are from out of state, who are going on road trips and want to buy marijuana from us,” Sveinsson said.

“We’re going to be (angering) Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, you name it.”

Sveinsson is only one of dozens of medical marijuana stakeholders around Colorado Springs, though, and plenty of others have no problem with the amendment.

Gina Akeo, the manager of the medical marijuana center Natural Leaf, said she voted for it because of the criminal repercussions.

“If you’re going to legalize alcohol, which kills thousands of people a year, and not legalize something that’s never harmed anyone, that’s counter-productive,” Akeo said. “The feds shouldn't be wasting time on people that are committing minor crimes like having less than an ounce of pot.”

Akeo said that plenty of her patients also voted for Amendment 64 for the same reason.

But they, and Akeo, still have reservations.

“It’s also a medical thing, and to make it recreational kind of defeats the purpose. It’s kind of a Catch-22,” Akeo said. “A lot of patients don’t want people with minor amounts incarcerated, but they also don’t want their medical to be interfered with.”

For those reasons and more, Garduno said, the Medical Cannabis Council planned a meeting to discuss the issue. The council has more than 60 members, she said, including dispensary owners, employees, patients and doctors.

“Most of the folks are kind of split down the centre. Half of them say they’re in favour of going legal, and half want to stay patient-based,” Garduno said.

And some are furious, like Sveinsson.

“We’re going to become the Amsterdam of the United States,” he said. “I can guarantee that (buyers) will be offloading it onto the streets and sending it out of state.”

Some dispensaries will probably be interested in selling both recreational marijuana and medical, Garduno said, because they’ve already set up shop and could make more profits if they add to their clientele.

That depends largely on what kind of rules the Legislature puts out, Akeo said. Her shop hasn’t even considered yet whether or not it may sell recreational marijuana, because they wouldn’t have to apply for a license until 2014.

“We knew we’d better hurry up and wait, just like we did with medical. It’s like, what’s going to happen now?” Garduno said.

Medical marijuana, Garduno and Akeo pointed out, was approved by Colorado voters in 2000, but regulations are still being handed down by the state. Centres have had to relocate, update security systems, and more. Regulations for recreational stores could take longer and be even more stringent.

Other stakeholders in the industry are also talking about what may happen if the federal government decides to prosecute stores that begin selling recreational marijuana. Marijuana may be legal in Colorado, but remains banned under federal law.

The federal government has shut down medical marijuana dispensaries in other states, like California, and some warn that the same thing could happen here if Amendment 64 leads to federal intervention.

WHEN LEGAL?

Personal possession of marijuana will only become legal after Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper proclaims the amendment part of the state Constitution, which might not happen until the governor's deadline, Jan. 5, 2013.

A medical marijuana plant is shown at the Northwest Patient Resource Center medical marijuana dispensary, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012, in Seattle. After voters weighed in on election day, Colorado and Washington became the first states to allow legal pot for recreational use, but they are likely to face resistance from federal regulations. 
Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/marijuana-147208-rippling-created.html#ixzz2C403sLJV

Contact us at Drug Test Australia
Website; www.drugtestaustralia.com.au
Email; Sales@drugtestaustralia.com.au
Phone; 1300 660 636