I’m not the first to write about an herbal marijuana substitute called K2 — media hysteria over the (mostly) legal blend of herbs and spices has been sweeping the Midwest, the state of Kansas banned it last week and Missouri is looking to outlaw it as well. But I may be one of the first writers that has actually tried it. K2 is gaining attention for its weed-like buzz, and my one experience smoking it confirmed that K2 can produce a pleasantly mild buzz somewhat similar to puffing on ganja, without common side effects like red eyes, dry mouth and the munchies. But the high was definitely weak compared to strong, dank buds (we even smoked a whole K2 joint between two people), the taste was terrible (think nasty truck-stop pouch tobacco) and I was told the price wasn’t much less than its illegal counterpart (I didn’t pay).

Wanna try it for yourself? Plenty of websites sell various blends of K2, with names like Pink, Blue, Blonde, Summit, Citron and Standard. Check out K24Real.com or K2Herbal.com to get started (sorry, Kansas, they won’t ship to you).