A national survey suggests use of synthetic drugs increased from 2009 to 2013. Many people who use these drugs also use other illicit drugs such as LSD, cocaine and Ecstasy, according to the researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center.
Dealers of synthetic drugs have no trouble ordering their products online, the Miami Herald reports. All it takes is a few mouse clicks and simple money transfers to receive the drugs from China.
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.
A new study finds while only about 1 percent of high school seniors say they have tried bath salts in the last year, almost one-fifth of those who tried it say they have taken the synthetic drug 40 times or more.
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.
Law enforcement officials are increasingly concerned that China, with a large and poorly regulated drug manufacturing sector, is becoming a major producer of synthetic drugs such as Spice.
The new synthetic drug known as “flakka” appears to be as potent and addictive as bath salts, a new rodent study suggests. Flakka and bath salts are chemically similar.
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.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy will host a series of webinars to outline the dangers of synthetic cannabinoids (Spice), cathinones (bath salts) and other new synthetic drugs.
From e-cigarette vapor to new strains of synthetic marijuana, our Join Together News Service covers the top drug and alcohol news of the day making an impact in your community, work and life.
Although authorities are trying to crack down on synthetic marijuana, emergency department physicians are still seeing an influx of young people who experience serious side effects after taking the drug, according to Lewis S. Nelson, M.D., Professor in the Dept. of Emergency Medicine and a medical toxicologist at NYU.
Use of synthetic drugs is expanding around the world, according to a new report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Almost 350 new psychoactive substances have been identified, the BBC reports. The report notes new supply routes and production centers for methamphetamines have been found in West Africa and Iran. Last […]
The Drug Enforcement Administration announced Wednesday it conducted a major crackdown on synthetic drugs that involved the arrest of at least 150 people in 29 states, and the seizure of more than $20 million in products and cash.
Three teenage girls were hospitalized in Virginia last weekend after taking an LSD-like synthetic drug. The compound is known by names including 25i, N-Bomb or Smiles.
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 Chinese government announced a major crackdown on makers of fake drugs, Businessweek reports. More than nine tons of raw materials used in counterfeit pharmaceuticals were seized, including some psychedelic or poisonous ingredients.