Marijuana is the world’s most widely used illicit drug. In the United States alone, marijuana use has been increasing in recent years as a result of legalization laws and the increased popularity of weed among adolescents.
As the demand for weed increases in countries where weed isn’t legal, there are more chances of getting a low quality product or one laced with other substances when buying weed on the black market. In this article, we’ll cover the topic of laced weed, including what to look for, what does laced mean, and what to do if you encounter laced marijuana.
What Is Laced Weed?
When we talk about laced weed, we refer to the cannabis bud combined with other additives or drugs. Lacing cannabis is often done in order to increase the weight of the product and make it seem like it’s of higher quality. While this problem is not that common in countries where weed is legal, it can happen in countries where cannabis is prohibited by law.
As you may already know, weed shouldn’t be mixed with alcohol and other prescription medication because the combination might cause side effects in users, especially if it’s mixed with unknown substances. For that reason, it’s best to keep an eye out for contaminated cannabis.
Lacing Cannabis With Additives
In some cases, weed can be laced to get a higher cannabinoid content (THC content), but in other cases, lacing weed can lead to drug abuse and substance abuse in consumers. That’s why it’s important to know who your supplier is and what the quality of the product you’re buying is.
You may find a whole array of additives incorporated in your plant material ranging from hair spray to pesticides and insecticides, glass, detergent, other drugs and opioids, and so on. Drug dealers may lace weed to get a better price for their product, mask poor quality, or lace the weed with addictive drugs to get the users addicted without them being aware.
So, let’s get into what illegal drugs and substances can be used to lace weed.
Common Lacing Additives
The most common additives used to lace weed include illegal drugs, additives, heavy metals, and other contaminants like embalming fluid. It’s not uncommon for dealers to put weed among fruits in order to increase their terpene flavor.
Cocaine
This laced weed combination is called “Primo joint” and it’s mostly used as a way to combine the sedative effect of marijuana with the stimulant effect of cocaine. Generally, smoking is the most common way of consuming weed, and people who smoke a primo joint may experience insomnia, numbness, paranoia, increased heart rate and blood pressure, and even a heart attack or stroke since this combination constricts the blood vessels.
LSD
Acid is a potent hallucinogen drug that can affect your feelings and sensations. Weed laced with LSD (Acid) is made by dabbing the end of marijuana cigarettes into LSD, and the final product is called a “Rainbow joint”. Mixing weed and psychedelics may result in an unpredictable synergy, and the effects of this mix can last up to 12 hours even from consuming small doses.
PCP
PCP, Phencyclidine, or “Angel dust” is another hallucinogenic drug with mind-altering effects. This combination results in more intense psychoactive effects in users like hallucinations, disorientation, delusions, seizures, and even neurological issues. Other street names for this mix are dusted weed, wet weed, and super weed.
Heroin
Heroin is one of the most addictive illicit drugs and the most dangerous combination on this list. You can even get hooked to it after trying it only once. This combination results in a high with extreme relaxation, a slower heart rate, and slowed breathing. The danger of mixing cannabis and heroin is even proved by this study done in 2019. It states that relapses to heroin are higher in people who are heroin-cannabis smokers compared with intravenous users that only use heroin.
Ketamine
This anesthetic is used in medicine for its sedative effects, but that is the reason for its recreational use as well. Side effects from mixing ketamine with weed include confusion, dehydration, and overheating of the body. As a result of the sedative effects, this mix is popular in night clubs, so marijuana users need to be extra careful when buying weed there.
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a medical drug that’s used to treat ADHD as well as obesity. Side effects of methamphetamine-laced weed include delusions, seizures, and hallucinations.
Fentanyl
This cheap opioid is used as an anesthetic and a painkiller. Its effects are 50 times stronger than heroin, so weed that’s laced with fentanyl may cause serious side effects.
Embalming Fluid
Embalming fluid is a mix of solvents and formaldehyde that helps to preserve dead bodies. It may be added to synthetic weed in order to increase the weight of the product. This mix may result in increased heart rate, headaches, chest pain, nausea, as well as hallucinations.
Crushed Glass
In order to mimic the trichomes that are found on weed, drug dealers might mix weed with crushed glass. This gives the appearance that the product has more trichomes, plus it increases the weight.
Laundry Detergent
This is another way in which drug dealers add weight to their product as well as make it smell nicer. When smoked, this combination may result in a sore throat, difficulty breathing, and nausea.
Food Coloring, Fuel and Other Smell Adulterants
This type of lacing is not dangerous if the dyes that are being used are food dyes. Dealers do this when selling weed on the black market to make their weed look more appealing and for their product to have a more intense color. Moreover, fuel and other adulterants may be added in order to enhance the smell of the strain.
How to Know if You Have Purchased Laced Weed?
To check if you’ve bought a high-quality product, there are a few steps you can take. To check for adulterants and fuels simply hold the bud over a flame and if it catches fire, that’s a good indicator of weed laced with fuel (if it’s mixed with perfumes it may produce a spark).
To check for added glass that mimics the trichomes, rub the bud on a CD, and if it scratches the CD it’s glass. If you want to check for the presence of laundry detergent, place the bud in a jar filled with water and check if it has traces of suds after shaking it.
The smell of weed that’s been laced is also a giveaway since it smells harsher than regular weed. And if you want to check for artificial coloring, just cut the bud in half and see if the color of the outer layer matches the color of the inner layers.
What to Do if You Have Consumed Laced Weed?
It’s a good idea to buy weed from licensed dispensaries and shops if weed is legal in your country. Since marijuana is used to treat certain medical conditions, people need to be extra careful when buying weed, especially when they’re buying from a new person.
If you’re buying weed on the black market, the tips mentioned above may be useful for you to determine if you’re buying a high-quality product. When suspecting that you or a loved one may have consumed laced weed and you need medical attention, go to the nearest hospital or call an ambulance to get the treatment that you require.
