Concern growing over synthetic marijuana
One of them, an 18-year-old, was brought to the ER from a party, where he had gotten into an altercation. He was aggressive, agitated and sweating profusely and had a pulse of 131.
The other, a 16-year-old, seemed confused and agitated and had trouble speaking. Both teens calmed down after getting an anti-anxiety drug and were discharged from the hospital after a number of hours.
Both teens had a negative drug screen, but said they had been smoking synthetic pot, which isn’t detectable on standard drug tests.
What Happens When You Smoke Synthetic Marijuana?
It’s important to remember that we have no scientific studies on the effects smoking the herbal blend products has on humans. Some studies conducted on mice indicated that the use of synthetic cannabinoids were similar to those of marijuana.
There are several “reviews” published on the Internet of some of the individual brand names, some of them by individual bloggers, but others published by reputable journalists.
The consensus seems to be that smoking the fake weed products will produce a high similar to smoking marijuana, but it doesn’t last as long. However, other reviewers said the result was more of a relaxed feeling, rather than the “head high” that real marijuana produces.
None of the herbal smoking blends reviewed got great marks for taste, and another reviewer said they were more “harsh” than marijuana and that they “make your throat burn and your lungs ache” long after you smoke.
Cohen, an emergency physician at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., said the three cases described in her report are the only ones she has witnessed personally.
But last November, a team of Texas doctors published a report on three 16-year-olds who had experienced heart attacks after smoking synthetic cannabis.
What Are the Long-Term Effects?
We simply do not know. There have been no studies conducted on what effects the synthetic cannabinoids may have on the body and brain. Of course, smoking any substance could have negative affects on the lungs, but we have no scientific evidence concerning the specific use of these fake marijuana products.
We do have a warning from one of the scientists who helped develop the JWH-018 chemical. While studying the effects of pharmaceuticals on the brain, a student of John Huffman, Clemson University research professor of chemistry, discovered the chemical JWH-018, also known by the name 1-Pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole.
“The problem with JWH-018 is that absolutely nothing is known regarding its toxicity or metabolites,” Huffman warned. “Therefore, it is potentially dangerous and should not be used.”
And according to Cohen and her colleagues, poison control centers across the country have received 4,500 calls involving the products since 2010.
“If people were getting the effects that they wanted they probably wouldn’t be calling the poison control centers,” she told Reuters Health. “Anytime your teenager is acting abnormally or having aggressive agitation you should certainly seek medical attention.”
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SOURCE: Pediatrics, March 19, 2012.