Aromatherapy Herbal Incense: Five Things You Need to Know

As proponents often say, individuals need all the facts before criticizing the use of any mind/mood altering substance such as aromatherapy herbal incense. The author's only intention here is to share some additional information about smoking aromatherapy herbal incense before deciding to try it. If "informed consent" is crucial in whether some people decide to do something, then that same "informed consent" should include these points too:

Aromatherapy Herbal Incense: Five things you need to know-Nothing is safe to smoke.
The plain truth on the matter is nothing is "safe" to smoke, not marijuana, not tobacco, nor any sort of aromatherapy herbal incense. Whatever a smoker might smoke, the reality is you are pulling smoke into lungs suited for air. Chemicals and pollutants contained in smoke damage your lungs, no matter how pretty the images on the packaging are. At this time in medical science, humans only get one set of lungs. Once they are damaged beyond recovery, you die. Even using the product as it is labeled is risky at best.

Aromatherapy Herbal Incense: Five things you need to know-Marketing is not always honest.
Companies that sell aromatherapy herbal incense package their product in very attractive ways. These packages are labeled with phrases such as "not intended for human consumption," but this is only to circumvent the law and avoid FDA regulations, such as full disclosure of ingredients. The manufacturers know full well their product is made for and purchased by folks who fully intend to smoke it and get high. Anyone who says different is lying. Often the claims of what herbs are used in the mix, just are not true.

Aromatherapy Herbal Incense: Five things you need to know-It is more addictive than marijuana.
According to WebMD, the active ingredient (most often JWH-018 a synthetic cannabinoid) has a much stronger effect than THC on the brain and can be a stronger addiction than coming off of marijuana. Withdrawal symptoms often include night sweats, insomnia, nightmares, increased blood pressure/pulse rate, and even diarrhea. These have been observed to last as long as a week.

Aromatherapy Herbal Incense: Five things you need to know-It is only technically legal.
By "legal," manufacturers and even distributors will admit that what is meant is the law has not updated enough to specifically limit the sale or possession thereof. Using it to get high is as criminal as huffing glue, since it is a misuse of the product for something other than the intended purpose. Some states have already enacted bans criminalizing the possession, sale, or use of most varieties of herbal incense. As of the time of this publication, those states are: Missouri, Hawaii, Louisiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Dakota. Most other states have pending legislation. It is just a matter of time before herbal incense is illegal in all fifty states.

Aromatherapy Herbal Incense: Five things you need to know-Military personnel can be subject to charges for using it.
According to a a US Navy PowerPoint presentation by the US Navy, the Uniform Code of Military Justice allows for Administrative Separation, and other punishments for those caught using aromatherapy herbal incense for purposes of intoxication. Is a "good time" getting high worth the risk of losing a military position and benefits? Only the individual making the decision can determine this for themselves.

Sources:
Kristie Leong, MD
US Navy PowerPoint presentation
High Times Magazine, with an interesting quote from the inventor of JWH-018, near the end.
"'Herbal Incense' Raises Drug Abuse Concerns"
Some more good information on the truth of herbal incense