Almost two dozen people were treated for synthetic drug overdoses in downtown St. Louis on Monday and Tuesday, KTVI reports. Most of the overdoses were linked to K2.
The Chinese government’s ban on certain chemicals has led to a decrease in the synthetic drug flakka in Florida, according to Drug Enforcement Administration officials. China banned 115 chemicals in October.
Emergency rooms treating patients who have taken the synthetic drug K2 are dealing with multiple challenges, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Top headlines of the week from Friday, July 15- Thursday, July 21, 2016.
Following reports of 130 suspected overdoses linked to synthetic drugs in New York last week, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer introduced a bill that would ban 22 synthetic drugs.
The Los Angeles Police Department announced 15 people were hospitalized over the weekend after consuming synthetic marijuana.
Several local governments have started to include synthetic cannabinoids in their criminal justice drug monitoring programs in an effort to deter their use, after it became clear many people were using the drugs because they knew tests wouldn’t detect them, according to the Director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR).
Calls to poison control centers regarding synthetic marijuana have almost doubled since last year, NPR reports. The drug, which is made of various chemicals sprayed on plant material, is sending thousands of people to emergency rooms.
Top headlines of the week from Friday, August 14- Thursday, September 10, 2015.
Officials in cities across the United States are reporting a rise in overdoses related to synthetic marijuana, CNN reports. Police chiefs meeting in Washington this week said they need field tests to help them quickly determine whether suspects have taken the drug.
Calls to poison centers about synthetic marijuana shot up 330 percent from January to April of this year, according to a new government report. Synthetic marijuana, sold under names including Spice and K2, remain on the market despite repeated attempts to ban them, HealthDay reports.
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, according to NPR.
Two new studies suggest synthetic marijuana, also known as “K2” or “Spice,” may cause kidney damage. The studies were presented at a meeting of the National Kidney Foundation.
A survey of college students finds the most common reason for experimenting with synthetic marijuana is curiosity, HealthDay reports.
A new government report finds emergency rooms visits related to synthetic marijuana more than doubled between 2010 and 2011, HealthDay reports.
Emergency rooms in Denver, Colorado reported a surge in visits related to synthetic marijuana in the late summer and early fall, according to the Los Angeles Times. Experts say similar patterns may emerge in other parts of the country.
The U.S. Defense Department will start randomly testing service members for synthetic marijuana, the Air Force News Service reports.
The number of people suspected of being sickened by synthetic marijuana in Colorado has risen to 150, NPR reports. Last week, the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control said they were investigating three deaths and 75 hospitalizations potentially caused by the drug.
Synthetic marijuana may be to blame in three deaths and 75 hospitalizations in Colorado, CNN reports.
The Iowa Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy is trying to find ways to stay one step ahead of synthetic marijuana manufacturers.
Kidney damage caused by synthetic marijuana was reported in 16 patients in six states last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All were admitted to the hospital, and five required hemodialysis, a treatment for advanced kidney failure.
A new report links acute kidney injury with use of synthetic marijuana. Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham say doctors should consider the possibility of synthetic marijuana use in young adult patients with negative urine drug screens who have acute kidney damage.
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