Calls to poison centers about synthetic marijuana shot up 330 percent from January to April of this year, according to a new government report.
With names like Spice, K2, No More Mr. Nice Guy, and hundreds of others, the drugs often called “synthetic marijuana” are actually totally different from marijuana, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, or the AAPCC.
“These drugs contain powerful chemicals and can cause some very dangerous health effects,” said Cary Quashen of Action Family Counseling in Santa Clarita.
The drugs are made specifically to be abused, according to the AAPCC. Like many other illegal drugs, synthetic marijuana is not tested for safety, and users don’t really know exactly what chemicals they are putting into their bodies.
In April 2015, more than 1,500 calls related to synthetic marijuana were made to poison control centers, up from about 350 in January.
Between January and May 2015, poison centers reported 3,572 calls related to synthetic marijuana use, a 229 percent increase from the 1,085 calls during the same January-May period last year, according to the report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most calls concerned use among males. Among the calls where the age of the user was recorded, the median age was 26 years.
“We really need to pay attention to what we are doing and what we are putting in our bodies,” Quashen said. “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t know somebody who was affected by drugs or alcohol.”
These synthetic drugs can be extremely dangerous and addictive, according to the AAPCC.
Health effects from the drug can be life-threatening and can include:
* Severe agitation and anxiety.
* Fast, racing heartbeat and higher blood pressure.
* >Nausea and vomiting.
* Muscle spasms, seizures, and tremors.
* Intense hallucinations and psychotic episodes.
* Suicidal and other harmful thoughts and/or actions.
Poison center experts – as well as many federal, state, and local government officials – have called synthetic drug use a risk to the public’s health and a hazard to public safety.
In 2015, through June 14, poison centers received reports of 3,894 exposures to synthetic marijuana.
The harmful effects from these products were first reported in the U.S. in 2009. Since then, the drugs have spread throughout the country. Poison centers received 2,668 calls about exposures to these drugs in 2013 and 3,680 exposures in 2014.
“These products mimic the active ingredient in marijuana, a synthetic version of which is spayed on plant material and smoked to get a high,” said report author Royal Law. “This is an emerging public health threat.” He added, “Even though these products are often marketed as natural and safe, they are not.”
Recently, hospitals across the country have been reporting hundreds of cases of seriously ill people coming to the emergency room after using synthetic marijuana. In New York City, more than 120 cases were reported in a single week.
“Kids are never too young to start to talk to them about marijuana use,” Quashen said. “It needs to be hardwired in their brain from an early age.”
Learn how and when to talk to your kids about marijuana abuse.
How to Get Help
Call your local poison center at 1-800-222-1222, if you have ingested synthetic marijuana. Fifty-five poison centers around the country have experts waiting to answer your call. These experts can help you decide whether someone can be treated at home, or whether he or she must go to a hospital.
Dial 9-1-1 immediately if someone stops breathing, collapses, or has a seizure.
For more information, call your local poison center at 1-800-222-1222. Poison centers are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year for poisoning emergencies and for informational calls, too.
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14 Comments
Damn…. What’s wrong with just pullin it straight off the plant?!? People are gonna ruin it for the rest of us!
This is not synthetic Marijuanna. It goes by different names and it is available by prescription only (http://www.livestrong.com/article/137065-what-are-prescription-drugs-that-are-substitute-marijuana/).
It also does not get you high either, it mimics(poorly)and is not used by medical patients.
I agree that everyone who has children must discuss the difference between what a doctor provides and what you buy from someone who is not an authorized provider.
The message that Marijuana is bad has lost all relevance in today’s society. There are more test results from all over the world that prove there is less harm than previously reported by the government.
Bath Salts and herbs all state not for human consumption. That is what the point of this article is about, not to take things that are not meant to be ingested.
Unfortunately if the media and government continue this line of education, more children will die. Educate your children dont tell them lies.
Kristy Albrecq
dont yall have regular weed lol??
Stop associating that stuff with marijuana. I don’t smoke weed but what you morons are doing is saying an inhaled substance that intoxicated a persons mental ability is automatically marijuana. How about we say synthetic heroin or paint for that matter. It’s just a media attention getter to make people believe marijuana is killing people before it’s legalized. It’s propaganda. Don’t fall for it. Think for yourself.
Steven, how is this article propaganda? It is the manufacturers of these products that market it as a legal & safe substitute for marijuana, NOT the media. What the media does with that information is another debate entirely. This product is actually meant to be a synthetic cannabinoid.
Btw, there are already synthetic opiates (heroin), synthetic hormones & other drugs meant to mimic the same effects as the natural verson. However, I do agree that people should be more educated before trying these alternatives. I believe this article is helping to do just that.
I can’t stand how they refer to that crap in any way to Marijuana. If people would actually read about the benifits that Marijuana has helped so many I’ll people. STOP living in the stone age.
I can’t stand how they refer to that crap in any way to Marijuana. If people would actually read about the benifits that Marijuana has helped so many I’ll people. STOP living in the stone age.
I can’t stand how they refer to that crap in any way to Marijuana. If people would actually read about the benifits that Marijuana has helped so many I’ll people. STOP living in the stone age.
I can’t stand how they refer to that crap in any way to Marijuana. If people would actually read about the benifits that Marijuana has helped so many I’ll people. STOP living in the stone age.
Legalize and this wouldn’t be an issue. Problem solved.
Geez just let them smoke the real
LEGALIZE
Kids are unable to use Marijuana a safe substance so they use synthetic tch which is man made not natural tch from a plant. (Yes there’s a difference in the way yiu body reacts . But spice and synthetic x, weed, coke those are actually worse than the drug that’s illegal c