Doctors Warn About "More Dangerous" Forms Of Synthetic Marijuana
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois doctors were warning about a resurgence in the use of synthetic marijuana, an illegal drug they say is becoming more dangerous.
Dr. Patrick Lank, an emergency room physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said synthetic cannabinoid – or Spice – is nothing new; but what is new is the different forms that are popping up.
"The chemicals that are out there now, the synthetic chemicals that are currently present, are a lot more dangerous with their side effects," Lank said.
Those side effects include heart attacks, kidney failure, strokes, and even psychosis.
"This year – in January, February, March – the calls to poison centers having adverse effects from synthetic marijuana are two, three times what they were the year before," said Lank.
Illinois banned synthetic marijuana in 2011, but Lank said young people still seem to get their hands on it. The state of New York issued a health alert recently, after a dramatic spike in hospital visits for synthetic marijuana related emergencies.
A federal ban on synthetic drugs became law on July 9, 2012. While the law banned 15 chemical structures of synthetic cannabinoids, there were already new versions being sold online, in smoke shops, and at gas stations around the country when the law was enacted.