Colos, No OG for this game – User
INTRODUCTION
At about the time the world mourned the legendary sports icon, Kobe Bryant aka Black Mamba in January 2020, a man whose positive influence both on and off the court can’t be overstated, a different kind of Black Mamba was quietly influencing the lives of a growing number of young Nigerians.
The name Black Mamba as it was initially called has now been dumped for the widely used Colorado or Colos for short (Colorado, Arizona, Canadian Loud, I wonder if these states know how popular they are down here).
The Quest Times’ Temisan Amoye set out to show how the dangerous and still-unknown Colorado (Synthetic cannabinoids) has become the go-to drug for young Nigerians, and its dangerous effects on their lives.
Wetin be this Colorado abeg (What is Colorado)?
Black mamba, K2, Spice, Baba or Colorado aka Colos as it is fondly referred to in Nigeria, are just some of the names used to brand certain synthetic drugs that interact with the brain’s cannabinoid receptors.
Unknown to most of its users, it is not a plant, but different chemical compounds sprayed on dried herbs. The herbs can then be rolled in paper and smoked like regular marijuana or stored in cartridges which can be used through vaping. At first glance, the dried herbs look just like regular marijuana.
Going on to earn the compounds the moniker “synthetic weed or marijuana” which has gone on to give it some form of “credence,” as acceptance of Marijuana is gradually on an upward trajectory.
In reality, these compounds widely vary from regular marijuana. The obvious difference is that Marijuana is a naturally occurring flowering plant, while Colorado and others are prepared in unregulated laboratories.
They are reported to be 2-100 times more potent than regular marijuana, depending on the mood or experience of the chemist preparing the mix.
For a more relatable comparison, marijuana is like Heineken, while synthetic cannabinoids can be compared to absinthe or prohibition-age moonshine.
The reason for its potency is that, unlike THC which does not fully bind to its receptors, synthetic cannabinoids bind very tightly to the receptors going on to create a more potent effect on the user.
According to Paul Prather, a principal investigator for the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Services, “Synthetic cannabinoids are meant to fully activate the receptors, so they’re much more efficacious at activating those than THC. It’s a much bigger activation, no mitigating compounds to remove toxicities, and an overall much bigger bang.”
Users have often described an intense, raw high when consumed in a “safe” quantity, but consumed in large quantities it can trigger deadly reactions, such as hysteria, psychosis, hallucinations, elevated heart rate, nausea, and kidney damage.
Videos have often emerged on social media showing so-called “weed” smokers exhibiting strange behaviour, ranging from uttering gibberish to uncoordinated movements with onlookers trying to revive the victims using different means such as dousing with water to the comical raining of heavy slaps to “reset” the brain.
Research has shown that such behaviour is linked to synthetic cannabinoid usage rather than regular marijuana. The far-reaching impact of synthetic cannabinoid usage has transcended beyond dire health issues to affect the personal finances, job performance, and social relationships of its users.
How did this nonsense come about?
Due to the banned status of Marijuana in the 1970s in America, Clemson University Professor, John. W. Huffman and his team of researchers created over 450 man-made compounds that imitated THC, the active agent in marijuana, by binding to cannabinoid receptors, to aid in research on AIDS and Cancer.
At the end of the research, they concluded that the compounds were highly addictive with the potential to cause psychotic episodes.
The dangers associated with its use, despite being severe, are still not fully known. Prof Huffman once quipped: “People who use it are idiots, you don’t know what it’s going to do to you.”
As cases of synthetic cannabinoid overdose became more mainstream, the US authorities caught up with the phenomenon, albeit a bit late. All the “ingenious” drug makers had to do was tweak the formula whenever the authorities banned certain compounds from being manufactured, creating a somewhat futile pursuit of evasive drugmakers.
Synthetic drugs and cannabinoids have always been in the Nigerian market, with the NDLEA busting a super meth production lab in Asaba in March 2016.
But usage wasn’t mainstream as one would need to purchase a full bag of Colorado which costs around 15k depending on the location in 2017, as demand wasn’t high.
But suddenly around early 2020, just before the COVID-19 lockdown kicked in, the market became awash with the product, with a staggering price drop in response to an ever-increasing demand. As of today, one can easily purchase Colos with N500.
You have to be a lowlife to sell this poison, and why is anyone using Colos anyway?
Colos na crack, e don wreck boys- User
Despite the dangers associated with synthetic cannabinoid use, usage has rapidly spread due to its relative attractiveness. For a drug so dangerous, Colorado has garnered a wide user base, from the chubby-faced mama’s boy to the menacing agbero on the streets.
Developing tolerance quite quickly, while racking up unnecessary expenses. Leading some to financial wreckage, which leaves them looking outside to fund their habit. A former user who “smoked like 7-8 bags a day (N3500-N4000 per day )” admitted that it turned him into a beggar.
“It f*cked me financially, I was broke. I wouldn’t say I turned myself to a beggar, but If I don’t have money, I will call my guy, guy hit me up, send me some change. I had a lot of credit (debt) outside.”
One upper hand it has over marijuana is that Colorado and Co are more affordable than the “loud” marijuana strains and far more potent than the popular “Arizona” and “Skunk” strains.
The loud strains retail for at least N5000 for a small cup, which rolls a maximum of 2 slim joints. For that same amount, a user will get at least 10 bags of Colorado, with a couple extra (1 or 2) on the house due to the generous purchase.
The Arizona and Skunk strains, which are the cheapest at N100 a bag which can roll 2 medium joints, have been rejected by users for lacking potency.
With veteran users faced with the choice of the relatively safe and expensive loud or the cheap and dangerous Colorado, it’s not rocket science to see where the majority tilt toward in this current economic climate.
Most importantly, Colorado won’t show up on standard drug tests, a great benefit to parolees in the US who are subjected to periodic drug tests, and employees whose workplaces have zero-tolerance for drug use. You can only look out for what you know about.
Colorado use has become so popular that a couple of dealers have all but abandoned the sale of Arizona and Skunk.
Just hear me out at least – S550 Snuga
“I started selling at N1,000 a bag, and after a while, I decided to do a promo by selling two bags for 1,500. That increased demand heavily”, says S550 Snuga, a drug dealer in a residential area dominated by the lower-middle class in Lagos.
Snuga looks anything like a drug dealer, clean shaved, decked in his combat shots, sneakers, t-shirt, and a pack of Dunhill cigarettes, he passes for just another “well packaged” Lagos boy. Apart from dealing, Snuga occasionally doubles as a part-time yahoo boy.
According to Snuga, he initially sold to his experienced customers he “trusted” as he knew the possible risks associated with usage to avoid police “gbege” (trouble), but after high demand and financial benefits, he deregulated sales.
Initially, Colorado was used to spice up the Arizona and Skunk strains, which most veteran users felt had lost potency, but with more usage comes increased tolerance, with users graduating to lining the Colos with cigarettes, while some daredevils have moved on to smoking raw.
You may wonder why anyone would trade in such a destructive substance. The answer is quite simple, profit, ridiculous margins at that. Snuga rakes in an estimated profit margin of 60% on synthetic marijuana sales, higher than that of regular marijuana.
He holds back on revealing numbers but says he makes a profit margin of 60% (Guess we will have to take his word for it, and the iPhone 11 he was using at the time of our discussion).
Due to the booming business, Snuga has managed to achieve an improved standard of living. From squatting to renting a flat of his and employing a “runner” (errand boy).
According to him, this recent success has made him a target among other boys in the area. In the space of 12 months, he replaced two iPhone Xs allegedly stolen from him by his perceived enemies in the area.
He currently uses an iPhone XR after the last iPhone 11 vanished under mysterious circumstances.
Business is booming so well that Snuga has dumped Arizona and Skunk for only Loud and Colorado. Two years ago, the former were the mainstays of his trade.
Ok so I can see it’s dangerous, but how does it affect its user?
I no dey smoke Baba again, e don tire me. I smoke baba I lost, I disappear into the land of unknown. Dem begin find me. No food I no chop to recover. Person come tell me to drink small stout to come back, I buy am drink. Devil is a liar, I’m back I’ve repented from my sins. Jesus is Lord. E dey f*ck person life – Former user
Synthetic cannabinoid products can be toxic.
As a result, people who smoke these products can react with rapid heart rate, vomiting, agitation, confusion, hallucinations and long-term organ damage.
Some have to get help from emergency medical services.
Remember those videos of people displaying after smoking, they most likely consumed Colorado. In fact a popular term has been coined to describe the display of psychosis by its users, “baba don chop him eye”.
Arizona and Loud strains do not have the potency to send a user into a psychotic episode.
In an interview with The Quest Times, a former Colorado user, JP, a Photographer, details how he began smoking, his first experience, and the unforgettable experience where he decided enough is enough. Watch it here.
Excerpts from the interview below
How did you start smoking in general?
“I started from a very tender age, I started like let me just say when I was 8, I swear. Started smoking paper and banana leaf. I was this kind of person when I see something I want to try, I started smoking with paper.”
How did you transition to Colorado?
“Back then I was smoking SK and Arizona, from there I went into loud, but at the time Colos came around 2016-2017. I started smoking Colorado when I was in Sagamu. We would buy the bag.
“I was this kind of person that wanted to try different things, I wanted to get to that extent to see what my body can carry. So I started smoking Colorado in 2016 to 2020.”
What made you change from Skunk and Arizona?
“At one point, Skunk and Arizona weren’t getting me high, it was that crazy, it wasn’t getting me high. It was f*cked up. I was like what’s this, I need to try a new drug, I need to be in high spirits. So I said let me just try Colorado. So I started with the bag.”
“First time I took Colorado, mehn I swear, I won’t lie to you, I don’t know if it’s body system, my system can adapt to things easily, I should have run mad.
“The first time I took that sh*t, I was in Sagamu. I wasn’t in my hometown or state, I was in a different state. We were in a beer parlour, this guy brought Colorado. Me as G now, I talk say Colos, no problem, I go smoke am.”
“So the guy tied one, he gave me to light, so as stubborn as my head be, I like dey try new things. It was just two puffs f*ck mean, I swear, everything around me totally changed.
“I did not know anyone again. I came with one of my guy, I gave him my phone like dude hold my phone, because what I am feeling right now is not here.
“I was looking at everybody, everybody just totally changed, was different. I was like what is going on here, did they set me up or something what the f*ck.”
“So I was just there, sat down, then I was hitting my leg, even the guy beside me was like J what’s going on, the only thing that could come out of my mind was f*ck f*ck f*ck.
“They had to take me home.
Why did you continue after that experience?
“No matter how this shit gets you f*cked up, if you sleep and wake up, there is this urge that makes you run back. It is f*cked up bro.”
Parting Words
“My advice for people out there, I won’t lie to you, for real I say no to drugs.”
“If you have not come across these drugs, I will tell you that you don’t have to try them, stay off them.”
“Stay away from Colorado, Black Mamba, Lemon ace, stay away from them, ma lo fa.”