Synthetic marijuana sending more teens to hospital, study finds

K2, a brand of synthetic marijuana

/ AP Photo/Kelley McCall, File

(CBS News) Synthetic marijuana is sending more kids and teens to the emergency room than ever before, according to the authors of a new study. Making matters even worse, emergency room doctors might not recognize the symptoms from these relatively new drugs, and may not realize some of these teens need immediate medical attention.

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Synthetic marijuana is a mix of plants and chemicals that's sometimes sold as "potpourri" under the brand names K2, Spice and Blaze. According to the study, published in the March 19 issue of Pediatrics, The American Association of Poison Control Centers received 4,500 calls involving problems from synthetic marijuana between 2010 to 2011.

The researchers also reported an uptick in the number of teens reporting to emergency rooms after using the fake - but dangerous - drug. They detailed three cases of so-called "synthetic cannabinoid intoxication" for their study.

One case involved a 16-year-old girl who was "catatonic" with her eyes open, but not responding to verbal or painful cues to try and get her attention. Another looked at an 18-year-old boy who was agitated and sweating profusely, and the third case looked at a 16-year-old boy who presented to the ER hallucinating with a "frozen face" and slow speech.

The teens in the study were also found to experience symptoms such as agitation, aggression, excessive sweating, restlessness and an inability to speak.

One of the problems with synthetic pot is the drug doesn't show up on routine drug tests that might be given in a hospital setting. The researchers hope by sharing these stories, other doctors will be able to recognize signs of synthetic marijuana intoxication.

"When we suspected the use of synthetic marijuana in these patients, we soon realized that there is little information about this drug in the medical literature," study author Dr. Joanna Cohen, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Children's National Medical Center in Washington D.C., said in a hospital written statement. "Because it is a relatively new drug, we should be aware of the symptoms and make a concerted effort to share our experiences in treating patients so we can develop best practices."

Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City who was not involved in the study, said the problem is compounded by the fact that these products contain unknown additives and chemicals which may cause a different set of physical symptoms. They include elevated blood pressure, rapid heart rates and paranoia - which could mimic a panic attack - along with hallucinations and even seizures for some users, he said. Effects of long-term use might be even worse.

"The truth is that we do not know the long term effects on the brain and nervous system in children and teens after use of synthetic cannabinoids," Glatter told HealthPop in an email. "With repeated use, potential side effects reported have included cognitive difficulties, including memory loss as well as psychosis."

Another problem: Teens with previous drug problems may also gravitate towards abusing synthetic marijuana, according to David Rotenberg, vice president of treatment at Caron Treatment Centers in Wernersville, Pa.

"Kids who have drug problems and are put on probation or are in an outpatient treatment program gravitate toward this stuff because it doesn't show up in all urine screens," Rotenberg told WebMD. "This stuff is bad news."

Cohen said emergency room physicians should consider using comprehensive lab tests that check the urine, blood and electrolytes for chemicals. She also said parents need to be aware of the symptoms and that teens experiencing signs of intoxication should get immediate medical attention.

According to a recent report from the Department of Justice, one in nine high school seniors used synthetic marijuana in the past year.

"Parents should talk to their children about this drug," Dr. Aaron Schneir, a toxicologist at the University of California in San Diego who was not involved with the study, told LiveScience. "You have no idea what you're getting when you use it."

18 Photos

Toking teens: 17 top states for marijuana use

[sangerwren]

synthetic marijuana is extremely addictive, not physically but physocologically. you feel like you cant go one day without it, you'll wake up in the middle of the night and smoke till you fall asleep again. i went to a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with borderline bi polar disorder and paranoid skitsophrenic. i told my doctor about my chronic synthetic use over the past two years and he said it is by fa the leading cause for my anxiety paranoia and depression. i had thought about killing myself multiple times, and im only 18 years old. my life is great, i have friends, a loving girlfriend i have been with a year and a half, a nice house, a car, everything but synthetic messed up my chemical balances and endorphines in my brain causes me to hate everyone around me, my life, and even myself. i encourage anyone who smoke on a regular basis because if you dont kill yourseld, you will drive yourself to a deep state of paranoia. i cant tell you how many nights i stayed smoking waiting for the world to end. i honestly thought everynight was going to be the night of the apocalypse. so like the above article says about the boy who had to go to a mental hospital, it is no joke, many of my friends have gone through the same thing and some even did go to mental hospitals. i feel lucky that i didnt get to that point, although i havent been smoking the past few months and i feel much healthier physically and mentally, i do feel i have psychological problems i will never recover from. my family has never had any history of bipolar disorder or paranoia. i blame solely on sunthetic marijuana. if you are scared about failing a drug test, then fail the drug test and smoke weed. whatever you do DO NOT smoke synthetic marijuana. it will drive you crazy, like i already am. i hope one day i can overcome the mental problems i still have aused by this.i hope this encourages young people and adults both to never touch this stuff. it might give a great high at the time, but long term effects are horrible, including diahrehha, paranoia, hallucinations, and many other things. those are just the three i experienced the most. thank you

if anyone has any questions regarding this subject feel free to email me as i can be of great help because i have experienced this all first had for the past two years
[e-mail]

[wishninja]

Why is the press trying to push this as "synthetic marijuana". When the media advertises it as such they are saying this is a safe and therapeutic substance like marijuana.

[Jame-_V]

I agree with Huson_c, this isn't marijuana its just incense with chemicals on it.

"One of the problems with synthetic pot is the drug doesn't show up on routine drug tests" exactly what i have been arguing for years, the only drug that stays in your system to 30 days or more is pot,

Look at half life of the following drugs:
Cocaine 2-3 days
heroin 3-4 days
LSD 7 days
These time tables are for all users including heavy ones.

Marijuana 3-14 days depending on body fat and up to 45 days for heavy users, Ofcourse people are going to use hard drugs or drugs that dont show up in drug tests, the goverment sends pot heads to jail like they are terrorists.

[moshe05]

lightweights.

[mightaswellbe]

Accept no substitues, smoke the real thing.

Legalize Now!

[RadicalRussNORML]

So there's this plant called cannabis. It produces flowers that people can smoke that in 5,000 years of recorded use has never produced a single death. There are, rarely, adverse reactions like paranoia, racing heartbeat, or cyclical vomiting, but for most users, it is a pleasant experience with the worst side effects being bloodshot eyes, dry mouth, giggles, munchies, and appreciation of noodly guitar solos.

This effect was deemed so heinous that marijuana use must be punished by fines, imprisonment, and mandatory urine screens for student, athletes, and workers. The effects of binge drinking alcohol or chain smoking cigarettes, meanwhile, are acceptable, and we'll only lock you us for using those if you cause harm to others.

Naturally, just as moonshiners in the 1920's distilled bathtub gin to satisfy beer drinkers affected by Prohibition, chemists today tweak a few molecules in a synthetic cannabinoid to bypass today's Prohibition - it doesn't show up in drug tests and you can buy it in a head shop or convenience store. And just as the bathtub gin was far worse than the outlawed beer it replaced, so too is Spice/K2 far worse than the outlawed pot it's replaced.

[RocknRock1]

You are correct on every point.

[huson_c]

It is wrong to refer to this as synthetic marijuana. It has nothing to do with marijuana at all. Just because people smoke it does not mean it is related.