Dangerous drug, cannabis
Why synthetic-cannabinoid overdoses are on the rise - Overdoses from synthetic cannabinoids are on the rise,
according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).
Synthetic cannabinoids, sometimes called K2 or spice, were
first found in the U.S. by authorities in 2008, according to the CDC. Since
2010, the number of overdoses from these compounds has increased each year,
according to the new report, published today (July 14).
The researchers included 101 U.S. hospitals and clinics in
the analysis. Between 2010 and 2015, a total of 456 synthetic-cannabinoid
overdoses were recorded at these sites, according to the report. The largest
increase in overdoses over the study period was in New York City, according to
the report. (Indeed, a mass of overdose cases from these drugs was reported
this week, on July 12 in Brooklyn, New York.)
The overdoses from synthetic cannabinoids make up a small
percentage of all drug overdoses and other poisonings in the U.S., the CDC
said. However, this percentage increased each year of the study period.
The findings are representative of what doctors have seen
in emergency rooms around the country, said Dr. Lewis Nelson, a
toxicologist and emergency medicine physician at New York University Langone
Medical Center who was not involved in the report. The CDC's report included
only a fraction of all overdose cases in the U.S. during the study period, he
noted.
One reason that overdoses are on the rise is that the drugs
are inexpensive to import into the United States, Nelson said. The chemicals
are made in labs, often in China, he said, and once the chemicals are imported,
they are sprayed on plant products and are sold as synthetic marijuana. The
products are not specifically marketed as a marijuana substitute but rather are
sold under the guise of legal products such as incense, Nelson added.
Indeed, the legality of the drugs also makes it challenging
to prevent overdoses.
It takes a while for the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) to add new drugs to its database, so there's a window
of several weeks or months when these chemicals exist in a "quasi-legal
state," Nelson said. "No drug is legal to abuse, of course, but until
the DEA acts, these drugs are not illegal, which makes them quasi-legal,"
he added.
And even for the drugs that are outright illegal, the
federal laws that ban them are difficult to enforce, Nelson said.
What synthetic cannabinoids do
Synthetic cannabinoids are not actually substitutes for
marijuana, though their name may imply that, Nelson told Live Science. The
substances, which represent a large class of chemicals, get this name because
they are loosely related to tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive
ingredient in pot, he said.
In fact, the chemical substances can be two to 100 times
more potent than THC, according to the CDC.
And although each new compound can have a unique effect on a
user, people who have taken the drug generally react in one of two ways: They
will become either agitated or sedated, Nelson said. Indeed, the nervous system
is the part of the body that is most commonly affected by these drugs,
according to the CDC. In 66 percent of the overdose cases described in the
report, people experienced symptoms such as agitation, toxic
delirium or coma.
If someone comes into an emergency room in an agitated or
sedated state, doctors know how to treat him or her, Nelson said. The doctor's
job is to address the person's symptoms while preventing harm, he said.
The CDC's report includes only three deaths directly
related to synthetic cannabinoids; however, the actual number of deaths linked
to the drugs is likely higher, Nelson said.
One challenge in determining whether a person died because
of synthetic cannabinoids is that the chemicals are constantly changing, Nelson
said. It's more difficult and more expensive to test for unknown substances
than it is to test for known compounds such as cocaine, he said.
However, the drugs are likely about as lethal as other
stimulants, including cocaine or amphetamines, Nelson said. The mechanism that
could lead to death appears similar in all of these drugs: agitation and
problems that arise from high blood pressure, including kidney damage, he said.
When intoxicated, the users may also be involved in high-risk behaviors that
lead to injury and death, he said.
Originally published on Live Science.