Health Concern Over Synthetic Cannabinoids

There is another dangerous drug trend causing concern amongst public health officials. Synthetic cannabinoids have been linked to impaired driving crashes, attempted suicides and a rise in Emergency Department visits. According to the American Association of Poison Control Center’s National Poison Data System (NPDS) the emergency calls doubled between 2010 and 2011 due to synthetic drug use.

Synthetic marijuana is a mixture of herbs and spices applied with a synthetic chemical compound (psychotropic drug JWH- 018 and JWH-073) similar to THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Spice is sold in smoke shops and head shops in a variety of colors/flavors-usually sold in foil packaging or in small glass containers. It is sold as incense and marked “not for human consumption” and is dangerous and addictive.  Nicknames for synthetic marijuana include: Fake weed, spice, K-2 spice, K-2 summit, Black Mamba, Genie, Zohai, Serenity Now, Zombie Zilla.

According to A Parternship for a Drug Free America symptoms of use are  hallucinations (can be intense), severe agitation, vomiting , elevated heart rate (tachycardia—in the range of 110-150 beats/minute), elevated blood pressure (in the 140-160/100-110 range), tremors and seizures (central nervous system), anxiety, numbness and tingling, agitation, and/or pale appearance. All effects of K2/Spice drugs may not be known for a very long time because of long time period that body stores them.

Spice/K2 was developed by Dr. John W.Huffman, a Clemson University professor, as part of research for the National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) on endogenous cannabinoid receptors-but never tested on humans nor approved by the FDA. Dr. Huffman said in an interview to WebMD, “It is like Russian roulette to use these drugs. We don’t know a thing about them for real. It shouldn’t be out there.”

K2 has been banned in many countries and 38 states. New York State is considering legislation. The Drug Enforcement Agency published a final order in the Federal Register temporarily placing five synthetic cannabinoids  into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.

What if I have concerns about someone smoking “Spice” or other similar products?

Take individual to the emergency room or the nearest hospital. The Upstate New York Poison Control Center can be reached at 1-800-222-1222. If you are someone you know is struggling with alcohol and addiction, please call the National Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependencies/Putnam for information and referral services at (845) 225-4646.

Members of the Putnam CTC Coalition are available if you have any questions or would like for us to do a presentation to your organization on this or any other substance abuse trends that affect our children.  Please visit and join us on Facebook by searching “Putnam County Communities That Care – NY” or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/PutnamCTCNY or call 845-225-4646.                   

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