Bioassay:
JWH-018, commercial distribution on herbs, very large doses (dosages unknown):
Subject A
I had been consuming an unknown quantity of the substance when it suddenly kicked in almost at once. There was about a minute of giddiness, followed by a cold feeling across my face and extreme seriousness, realizing I had taken entirely too much and had very limited control. Subject B is laughing hysterically. I sit down for a minute, but can no longer take the laughing at such a serious time. I wander off of the porch around to the front yard and driveway. This was where the memory lapse occurred. I looked around and realized I was in front of B's house but wasn't sure why, and wasn't sure if I was dreaming or what I was seeing was real. I considered that it was the night before and I was dreaming about going over to consume the substance, possibly even a warning to me not to do it. At some point, I made the observation that what I could see had too much detail to be a dream and that I could trust what I see, but that was much less comforting than learning I was in a dream I could wake up from would have been. I entered a more terrifying state where I knew that what was around me must be real, but it didn't feel real, and I began to worry about how long the disconnect would last.
I had tried unsuccessfully to get Subject B to answer his door and assumed he wasn't there or wasn't going to let me in for some reason. I walked down the road a bit to try to figure out if there was a way to get home (I was several miles away, so no.) I eventually realized I had taken the substance (though I still had trouble figuring out if I really did or just dreamed it all and was still stuck in the dream.) I tried throwing up and breathing deeper to try to get rid of it more quickly. I knew I could not drive, but wanted to sleep.. so I put my keys in a different pocket than usual before getting into my car to try to sleep (so I wouldn't get them out and try to drive during any sort of future delusion.) As may be evident from some of the reasoning and planning, I never became what I would consider intoxicated. I had full mental control in the present, I just had trouble remembering if the way I thought I had gotten there was real and the disconnect from what I knew should be real and what felt real deeply concerned me.
While in my car I began to become terrified I would be that way for the rest of my life. This clearly was an unreasonable stress induced conclusion, but it seemed reasonable at the time, especially since I had some concerns that these weren't the effects expected from the drug and that I may have taken something else (PCP, specifically.) I got out and made a desperate call home to see if anyone was there to get me. When that failed, I called emergency services and asked for help, thinking they may have something they could give me to stop the effects. Shortly after this, I began to piece together how I had gotten there and went back around B's house to enter through the back door. Found Subject B still laughing. We entered the house and sat down in the living room, he was still laughing. I asked if the experience was pleasant for him. "No, it's horrible. It's like PCP or something." He explained that he didn't find it funny at all, but once he started laughing it felt like a reflex and he had trouble stopping.
I tried to get some sleep on the couch to no avail. I told B I had called an ambulance, and he asked if I could just tell them I didn't need it anymore and just pay their bill instead of paying that and a hospital bill and having to go to the hospital. I thought it was a good idea too. When they arrived, I looked out the window and could see them pull up, but then I apparently said "I need to go to the hospital," walked downstairs, put my shoes on and went with them.
I was stilling having occasional memory lapses. I could see the inside of the ambulance and everyone there but it didn't seem real, and I even started reasoning that it was too wide to be real, etc. because I couldn't trust what intuitively felt real anymore, I had to deduce it through reason. I was able to explain to the EMS team what I had taken, and correct them when they misheard. They were discussing possible counteractions, and when one suggested Narcan I was able to tell her that it wasn't an opiate (the last thing I needed was to be sick and scared.) During the trip, I asked her where we were. "We're on Main Street right now." This wasn't at all the answer I wanted.. I meant where are we in relationship to reality.. am I really in an ambulance, am I not dreaming right now, did I actually do all of the things I somewhat remembered? But her answer seemed like a realistic answer to that question so that I accepted I was really there (although I still had to get there via reason.)
They took me to the hospital, put me in a room, got my shirt off in exchange for a gown (my shirt was soaking wet, I had been walking around in the pouring rain without thinking about it.) I lay in bed for quite some time, still not quite sure. Several people came in and out, to take my temperature, ask me questions. It seems I was the first reported case of usage in the area and a few of them seemed excited about it. I was just happy a few of them actually understood what I had taken. They placed me on EKG and started an IV (which was actually inserted in ambulance but no liquid was attached until in the room.) Blood was also taken. I gradually came back to fully feeling that what was around me was real. During this time, I had visits from the doctor and nurses to ask questions, listen to my lungs, etc. While I was still cloudy, some girl came in with one of the nurses. Not particularly attractive, but about my age and friendly, gave me an empathy smile and I smiled back. It really made me feel a lot better about everything for some reason. A woman came in to take a chest x-ray and immediately after I thought "Shit, there's another $300."
I had been requesting a lot of water during this time; I was extremely thirsty. I was eventually competent enough to get up to pee, but had to call for help to come close the curtains and lower the bed side rails because I was still connected to the EKG. After this, I could start to handle myself. Kept refilling my own water, and urinating often. It's possible my body was encouraging this to help get rid of the substance. I eventually was back to baseline after about 4 hours and asked to be discharged. Subject B was normal again by now and able to pick me up. The girl who had smiled at me was working at the ER reception where I needed to give billing information, and I believe she said she might be able to help with the cost somehow where I didn't want it to go through my insurance. I don't know if she was able to help any with it, but she was really nice to me and I appreciated her trying.
When I made it back to B's house, I waited about 20 more minutes and was normal enough to drive home safely. The whole experience still seemed like it had been some kind of crazy dream even though I was back to present reality.
Some information learned from the hospital trip: Blood pressure was somewhat elevated, although mine runs a bit high anyway. Poison control was contacted by medical staff but no treatment other than saline was given, which would indicate that they had no further specific instructions for treatment. The drug screen ran on my blood came back clean, so what I took was likely the expected compound or similar synthetic derivatives.
Subject B
A full write up from Subject B is not available, but I will try to summarize the experience as he described it. B consumed more of the product than I did, but also weighs significantly more than I do. After I left his porch, he sat down and felt that he could not get back up again. He began to have vivid visual and audial hallucinations and felt as though he were in some kind of hell. We had both experimented with dextromethorphan before and he was able to relate the experience to a much stronger version of it which is also how I would describe my experience. When I made it back to the back door, he met me and we sat in the living room. This is when he described how it had felt for him.
He had been glued to the outside chair for some time and eventually made it inside to be glued to the living room couch. He had heard me ring the doorbell but didn't know what it was, as it was distorted and merging with the other hallucinations. The effects wore off for him after approximately the same length of time as for me.
JWH-018, commercial distribution on herbs, smaller unknown doses:
Subject B experimented with smaller doses in the days following the first experiment. He described the experiences as very pleasant and similar to that of marijuana.
JWH-018, purchased as pure powder, dissolved in solvent and distributed evenly on pipe tobacco, 10mg:
This seemed like a decent middle ground based on reported dosages. There was concern that if we started at 5mg we may not feel it and be tempted to move to 10mg and have it accumulate to stronger effect than desired. Both Subjects A and B intended to take this dose, but Subject B suggested one of them should be sober in case it is too strong again.
Subject B displayed hilarity and reported enjoying the experience, although he thought a proper dose was likely 1.5x to 2x that amount.
JWH-018, purchased as pure powder, dissolved in solvent and distributed evenly on pipe tobacco, 15mg:
The next day, Subject B consumed 15mg, again displayed hilarity, and reported that this was an ideal amount for him and that the experience was enjoyable.
JWH-018, purchased as pure powder, dissolved in solvent and distributed evenly on pipe tobacco, 10-15mg:
Subject C, a regular user of marijuana as well as IV cocaine and opiates consumed 10mg of the substance and reported that it was enough to get him high. He proceeded to consume another 5mg later that night. Strangely, he had consumed approximately the same amount of the commercial herb on a previous day that Subject A had when he overdosed and felt hardly any effects. It would seem that the commercial product may not be very evenly distributed.
The next day, Subject C wanted more, reporting that he liked the experience better than that of marijuana. Subject B responded that he preferred marijuana much better.
JWH-018, purchased as pure powder, dissolved in solvent and distributed evenly on pipe tobacco, 10mg:
This morning, Subject A was feeling a bit down and decided to try the substance for the first time since his overdose the previous week. The dose felt reasonable but the effects were not pleasant. There was pressure in the chest and blurred vision, all of which felt like a mild version of the first experience. An existing pain in the lower back intensified, and the whole body felt under great pressure. After about 15 minutes of this, A decided he did not like this and took 15mg hydrocodone. After 20-30 minutes, the effects of the title substance began to be replaced by the familiar warm embrace of the opiate. The interaction wasn't unpleasant, like a more alert opiate high, but Subject A sees no reason to continue his experimentation with this compound. After some time, the opiate effects completely replaced the cannibinoid effects and were found to be much more enjoyable.
. That effect she got from pure THC is what I get from weed anymore I could see it in her face. I just chose to avoid it all for the most part now.
