Fake Pot Sending Increasing Number of Kids to ER
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — An increasing number of teens and young adults are turning to synthetic marijuana compounds with nicknames such as “K2,” “Spice” and “Mr. Smiley” in search of a legal high. But as several new case reports point out, more and more teens and young adults who use these substances are turning up in hospitals with signs of intoxication.
In the latest edition of the journal Pediatrics, physicians from Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., presented three case studies of teenagers who came to the emergency room after they each ingested fake pot.
Each teen suffered from a variety of serious adverse effects after they ingested these marijuana-mimicking substances. The authors described symptoms such as rapid heart beat, high blood pressure, excessive sweating and rigidity. Two of them also became extremely agitated.
All three survived and were eventually released from the hospital.
“We became concerned about it after seeing these teenagers, and when we researched the literature, we realized there is very little out there about the effects of these compounds,” said Dr. Joanna Cohen, lead author and associate professor of pediatric emergency medicine at Children’s National Medical Center. “We wanted to publish these case reports mostly because we wanted to share the information we had gathered to let the medical community know what we were seeing.”
These compounds are banned in almost every state, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recently extended a ban on some of the chemicals used to produce these substances.
The compounds are relatively new, and clinicians don’t always immediately realize what’s going on with people who come to emergency rooms after smoking them. The chemicals also do not show up in routine drug screenings.
The teenagers told medical staff what substances they smoked, which Cohen said is the only way staff knew what caused their symptoms.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio