On Wednesday, in New Haven, Connecticut, there were at least 76 overdoses in 24 hours from “synthetic” marijuana. The term, “synthetic” marijuana, however, is misleading. Here’s a look at why.
Products labeled as synthetic marijuana are often plant matter sprayed with lab-created drugs. Those drugs, or combination of drugs, are designed to bind to the same receptors in the body as naturally occurring cannabinoids attach to. But because they are different in composition, they often lead to dangerous and unpredictable reactions.
The process of spraying herbs with chemicals is meant to make the mixture look like actual marijuana and enable it to be smoked, mimicking the popular mode of consumption of natural marijuana, which also adds to the confusion about the difference between substances.
Literally anything could be in that chemical mix, and recently they have been found to include dangerous or deadly components such as opioids or even rat poison – truly a far cry from the naturally occurring cannabinoids.
Take the New Haven overdoses, for example. First responders dealt with symptoms that included vomiting, convulsions, and collapse on the New Haven green. Those are not symptoms caused by marijuana.
As it turns out, some officials cited fentanyl as the culprit. The deadly synthetic opioid responsible for 30,000 overdose deaths last year, may have been added to the chemicals sprayed on herb blends marked as synthetic marijuana.
Earlier this summer, a similar string of overdoses stemming from drugs labeled as “synthetic marijuana” caused people to collapse in Washington D.C. In that one week, more than 122 people were suffering effects of the drugs were transported to area hospitals.
Drugs like “K2” and “spice,” thought to be behind those overdoses, should probably not be referred to as “synthetic marijuana,” because it creates an association between those dangerous and unknown chemicals and natural marijuana, which does not lead to deadly overdoses.
These incidents and similar ones around the country, highlight that “synthetic marijuana” is not marijuana and is not safe. People who might otherwise try weed just because it has a harmless reputation and is being legalized in so many places should stay away from anything called “synthetic marijuana.”
