‘Spice’ Synthetic Marijuana is BAD NEWS

"Spice" or "K2"  is the street name for synthetic marijuana and it's DANGEROUS!

According to a story in the News-Times, Dr. Rock Ferrigno, chairman of Bridgeport Hospital's emergency department says that it affects the body in a manner similar to marijuana but can have serious health consequences such as seizures, intense hallucinations, and psychotic episodes. Some have even suggested that it is deadly.

The drug is also referred to as "Spice," and "K2."

There is no set treatment for this nasty drug, which makes it unpredictable and dangerous.

Synthetic marijuana is a mix of dried herbs and chemical compounds, originally marketed as incense and sold in gas station convenience stores. Certain brands of K2 and Spice can be four to 100 times more potent than marijuana.

Dr. Jennifer Ballew, chief medical officer of MCCA, Inc. in Danbury has stated that synthetic cannabis products are potentially addictive and can cause many adverse effects ranging from nausea and vomiting to severe agitation, psychotic symptoms, anxiety, and severe paranoid delusions. 

The largest risks from these dangerous drugs comes from the fact that the concentration of active ingredients, or dose, is different from package to package. Basically you don't know what you're getting, which makes a trip to the ER difficult to treat.

Fortunately, Connecticut has had only 100 reports of synthetic marijuana exposures since 2012, but in New York there have been 350 reported exposures reported to poison control centers so far this year.

If you or a friend begin to show adverse side effects to any form of synthetic cannabis, call 911 immediately!