(12/10/2012)

First-of-its-kind report finds that street forms of “synthetic marijuana” products linked to thousands of hospital emergency departments visits each year
SAMHSA

December 4, 2012

Street forms of synthetic cannabinoids – so-called “synthetic marijuana” – were linked to 11,406 of the 4.9 million drug-related emergency department (ED) visits in 2010, according to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  Commonly known by such street names as “K2” or “Spice,” synthetic cannabinoids are substances that are not derived from the marijuana plant but purport to have the same effect as the drug.  The report found that youths between the ages of 12 to 29 constituted 75 percent of all hospital ED visits involving synthetic cannabinoids, with males accounted for 78 percent of the ED admissions among this age group. The average age for people involved in synthetic cannabinoid-related ED admissions was younger than for marijuana-related ED visits (24 years old versus 30 years old).

View the full article here: http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/1212040915.aspx

Keywords: report, synthetic, marijuana, street form, linked, hospital, emergency, visits