Spice Military Defense Lawyer

What's the problem with "Legal Marijuana?"

Given our success in fighting Spice cases in Okinawa, Japan and throughout the world, we are literally getting inundated with calls for help and requests for information regarding "Spice" and Spice defense. If you are currently charged under the UCMJ for an allegation of use, possession or distribution of Spice or are getting discharged from the military because of Spice - and you want to aggressively fight your case - we may be the right military criminal defense firm for you. But before we can even begin to formulate a strategy to defend your case, it is critical that service members save some basic knowledge on "Spice."

This new "drug" called "Spice" isn't grown on a hemp bush and it doesn't have a Latin chemical name containing the term cannabinol. It's not a powder that you put up your nose or melt into a syringe to stick in your arm. No doctor's prescription to abuse, and it doesn't come in a bottle with a "proof" and a federal tax stamp on it. It doesn't show up in a urine or hair follicle test, either. So what's all the yelling about, anyway?

Knowledge of Spice is important for a very simple and vital reason: if you are in the military - and reading this page - it will or has affected you. Drug controversies are hardly new for a "boomer" generation that's dealt with everything from the marijuana and LSD days of the late 1960's until today, when prescription drug abuse involving opiate pain-killers and tranquilizers like Xanax rose nearly 400% from 2008 until the beginning of 2010. According to many sources including the World Health Organization, America abuses more drugs, that no other known country even comes close.

The substance in controversy is an "herbal smoking blend" most often called Spice that, when smoked, allegedly causes a euphoric intoxication very similar to that of marijuana. Marijuana has hundreds of psychoactive (mood changing) substances, but the one in question is delta-9 tetrahydocannabinol or "THC." Previously, the THC content of marijuana was only about 4%; today, with so many improved growing techniques, that level is around 8%. So when we talk about Spice having a marijuana-like "high," we're talking in terms of today's weed, not the junk that the hippies used to smoke.

Spice Possession, Trafficking & Distribution Crimes

Spice surfaced in the US in 2005, although it's been around a bit longer. Since then it is become the bane of a good part of the civilized world, most US states, and the Armed Forces of the United States of America. In a nutshell, here's the least you need to know about Spice:

• It's an odd blend of plant materials that's mixed with chemicals containing no actual hemp-grown THC, but rather are synthetic (man-made) substances that mimic the euphoric effects of THC. Nothing new here, either: Chemists created the synthetic opiate-like painkillers like Percocet, Darvon, Fentanyl, and OxyContin, too. They were made in laboratories, not from the opium poppy like codeine, morphine and heroin. One significant difference though, is that you can't get a prescription for Spice. Your credit card number given to Internet merchants will do.
• Spice is illegal in some countries, legal in others. It's been criminalized in many US states. The Federal Government has banned many of the components commonly found in Spice and based on that new legislation, there is no longer any question that Spice is illegal in the military.
• It's known by countless slang terms and brands, including Genie, Gonjah, Smoke, Skunk, Yucatan Glow, K2, K3, Black Magic, Halo, Sativah, and Loco. "Spice" is one of those slang terms and is more widely known than most.
• Like actual marijuana, Spice has many questionable chemical compounds, but the ones causing the most concern and which have recently been made Schedule I controlled substances are HU-210, HU-11, JWH-018, JWH-73, CP-47, and CP-497.
• No chemical substance contained in Spice mixtures is detectable through standard urine and/or hair follicle testing; however, USACIL now has specialized testing that can detect those substance. When these cases go to trial, the prosecutors are now sending the Spice off to USACIL for forensic testing to determine if one of the scheduled substances are contained in the Spice.
• Since the facts and allegations about Spice are rapidly changing - literally - week to week, it is important to contact an experienced military lawyer with battle tested experience in court martial defense so that you can fight your spice charges effectively at trial.

Contact a spice defense lawyer at The Bilecki Law Group, LLLC today if you are being investigated for or being charged with a Spice-related offense.

We serve worldwide including following States and Countries:
Hawaii, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Guam, Mainland Japan, Germany, Italy, Bahrain, Iraq and Afghanistan