Synthetic cannabis mimic found in herbal incense

A chemical substance first synthesized in 1995 in a university lab in the US for purely experimental purposes is now being used by young people around the world to legally achieve a marijuana-like high and is causing alarm among health officials in Europe.
The synthetic substance, JWH-018, a cannabinoid receptor agonist from the aminoalkylindole family, has been found in herbal mixtures sold legally under various 'spice' names, such as Spice Gold and Spice Yucatan Fire. The mixture is sold as incense, but is smoked to get high.

Germany's Drug Commissioner Sabine Bätzing has vowed to make the sale of Spice mixtures illegal in Germany by the end of January, by modifying the Controlled Substances Act. She says Spice can have negative side effects and be addictive. Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands have already banned Spice.