https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. (HealthDay)—Teens who use Spice, K2 or other synthetic marijuana products may risk medical harm, including coma and seizures, researchers report. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-07-teens-seizures-coma-synthetic-pot.html Mon, 08 Jul 2019 10:39:47 EDT news481801181 (HealthDay)—Synthetic marijuana laced with rat poison has caused hundreds of hospitalizations in the United States this year, and a new study details just how serious the poisonings can be. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-09-rat-poison-synthetic-pot-users.html Wed, 26 Sep 2018 17:20:01 EDT news457201048 The Green, a gathering place in New Haven, Connecticut, near Yale University looked like a mass casualty zone, with 70 serious drug overdoses over a period spanning Aug. 15-16, 2018. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-08-synthetic-marijuana-risky.html Wed, 29 Aug 2018 10:55:00 EDT news454758892 A decade after first appearing in the United States, fake weed is seen as a growing health danger. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-08-fake-weed-health-danger.html Fri, 17 Aug 2018 12:44:07 EDT news453728641 (HealthDay)—Users of synthetic marijuana products and health care providers should be aware of the risk of bleeding associated with contamination of synthetic cannabinoid products with brodifacoum, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-07-fda-contaminated-synthetic-cannabis.html Tue, 24 Jul 2018 12:07:26 EDT news451652824 Synthetic cannabis, also popularly known as 'spice' or 'k2,' may boost the risk of a stroke in young users, warn US doctors writing in the journal BMJ Case Reports. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-06-synthetic-cannabis-spice-k2-boost.html Thu, 07 Jun 2018 18:30:01 EDT news447609171 A deadly batch of synthetic marijuana laced with rat poison has claimed its fourth victim in the US Midwest, as health experts warn the public to avoid the illegal drug. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-deaths-poison-laced-synthetic-pot.html Wed, 25 Apr 2018 12:49:38 EDT news443879371 Fake marijuana likely contaminated with rat poison has killed three people in Illinois and caused severe bleeding in more than 100 others, including a few in four other states. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-04-synthetic-pot-laced-rat-poison.html Tue, 10 Apr 2018 12:30:02 EDT news442582074 Nearly one in three 12th graders report past year use of some kind of vaping device, raising concerns about the impact on their health. What they say is in the device, however, ranges from nicotine, to marijuana, to "just flavoring." The survey also suggests that use of hookahs and regular cigarettes is declining. These findings come from the 2017 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey of eighth, 10th and 12th graders in schools nationwide, reported today by the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, along with scientists from the University of Michigan, who conduct the annual research. The survey asks teens about "any vaping" to measure their use of electronic vaporizers. It is important to note that some research suggests that many teens don't actually know what is in the device they are using, and even if they read the label, not all labeling is consistent or accurate. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-12-vaping-popular-teens-opioid-misuse.html Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:10:02 EST news432404827 Marijuana is the most commonly abused drug in the world, and the advent of synthetic cannabinoids creates additional challenges to society because of their higher potency and ability to escape drug detection screenings. Scientists from Japan have a warning about a danger of cannabinoid abuse. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-09-cannabinoids-seizures-cannabinoid-cb1-receptor.html Thu, 21 Sep 2017 08:01:59 EDT news425199710 Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs), commonly marketed as "Spice" and "K2", are potent new psychoactive compounds being used among high school students, with a high risk of adverse health outcomes. Some compounds found in SCs resemble those in marijuana and are often marketed as being similar. In reality, SCs have been found to have a potency ranging from 2 to 100 times stronger than marijuana, making adverse health outcomes of SC use exponentially greater than marijuana use. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-09-dangerous-drug-trend-high-school.html Mon, 11 Sep 2017 10:39:04 EDT news424345137 Synthetic cannabinoid abuse is a growing problem in the United States, with new versions of the drugs coming on the market every year. New research is examining how the body processes these man-made drugs and the role that genetics might play in their metabolism. The work could reveal genetic factors that increase a person's risk for experiencing the most dangerous effects of these drugs and lead to new treatments to counteract those effects. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-04-genetic-factors-contribute-adverse-effects.html Mon, 24 Apr 2017 13:30:01 EDT news412256410 In the first prospective study of synthetic cannabinoids or SCs - the group of chemicals that mimic the effects of marijuana - researchers have found that symptoms of depression, drinking alcohol, or using marijuana was linked to an increased risk of SC use one year later. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-03-depression-alcohol-marijuana-linked-synthetic.html Mon, 13 Mar 2017 03:45:57 EDT news408595548 The nation's homeless are proving to be especially susceptible to a new, dirt-cheap version of synthetic marijuana, which leaves users glassy-eyed, aimless, sprawled on streets and sidewalks oblivious to their surroundings or wandering into traffic. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-12-homeless-country-fall-victim-synthetic.html Sat, 17 Dec 2016 13:31:52 EST news401203903 More than two dozen people were sickened in an apparent mass drug overdose on a New York City street corner, sparking warnings from police and health officials about the dangers of using K2, also known as synthetic marijuana. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-07-sickened-apparent-mass-drug-overdose.html Wed, 13 Jul 2016 02:19:50 EDT news387595179 A new synthetic drug that can be purchased online and is connected to at least 50 deaths nationwide has several states scrambling to stop its spread, with Kansas law enforcement agencies seeking an emergency ban. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-06-synthetic-drug-u-states.html Tue, 07 Jun 2016 02:56:32 EDT news384486978 An article entitled "Comparison of Outcome Expectancies for Synthetic Cannabinoids and Botanical Marijuana," from The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, studied the expected outcomes of both synthetic and natural marijuana. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-04-synthetic-cannabinoids-natural-marijuanaa-comparison.html Wed, 27 Apr 2016 07:44:35 EDT news380961868 The 2015 Monitoring the Future survey (MTF) shows decreasing use of a number of substances, including cigarettes, alcohol, prescription opioid pain relievers, and synthetic cannabinoids ("synthetic marijuana"). Other drug use remains stable, including marijuana, with continued high rates of daily use reported among 12th graders, and ongoing declines in perception of its harms. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-12-drug-trends-stable-decline-teens.html Wed, 16 Dec 2015 10:20:02 EST news369482422 In recent years, there has been an increase in emergence and use of a variety of new drugs, so-called "novel psychoactive substances" (NPS) in the US and worldwide. However, there is little published survey data estimating the prevalence of use in the US. Media reports about use of new drugs such as "Spice" ("synthetic marijuana") and "bath salts" such as "Flakka" are now common, yet very few health surveys ask about use of such drugs. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-09-document-self-reported-synthetic-drugs-teens.html Tue, 15 Sep 2015 11:32:55 EDT news361535568 Daily marijuana use among the nation's college students is on the rise, surpassing daily cigarette smoking for the first time in 2014. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-09-daily-marijuana-college-students-highest.html Tue, 01 Sep 2015 02:04:50 EDT news360291880 Deaths from using synthetic marijuana, or spice, have tripled so far this year and the number of emergency calls to US poison centers have soared, officials said Thursday. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-06-deaths-triple-synthetic-marijuana.html Thu, 11 Jun 2015 16:10:56 EDT news353257846 A huge nationwide spike in hospitalizations last month caused by a class of drugs often called "synthetic marijuana" illustrates the potency and dangers of the chemicals used to make them and the shifty tactics authorities believe manufacturers are using to evade regulation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-05-synthetic-pot-nationwide-spike-hospitalizations.html Fri, 08 May 2015 09:16:09 EDT news350295361 (HealthDay)—In the past month, more than 300 people in Alabama and Mississippi have sought emergency care after using synthetic marijuana, according to health officials. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-04-synthetic-pot-hundreds-ers-month.html Sun, 19 Apr 2015 02:54:34 EDT news348630860 (HealthDay)—New research suggests that synthetic marijuana, also known as K2 or Spice, might harm the kidneys. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-03-synthetic-pot-linked-kidney-injury.html Mon, 30 Mar 2015 19:00:01 EDT news346957188 In recent years, hundreds of new synthetic recreational drugs have emerged – drugs that neither the general public nor the scientific community know very much about. Many of these new synthetic drugs – often referred to as "legal highs" – are dangerous and continue to lead to poisonings throughout the US and the rest of the world. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-03-synthetic-drugs.html Fri, 06 Mar 2015 09:13:25 EST news344855596 Synthetic cannabinoids ("synthetic marijuana"), with names like Spice, K2, Scooby Doo and hundreds of others, are often sold as a "legal" alternative to marijuana. Often perceived as a safe legal alternative to illicit drug use, synthetic marijuana use was associated with 11,561 reports of poisonings in the United States between January 2009 and April 2012. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-03-teens-at-risk-synthetic-marijuana.html Mon, 02 Mar 2015 08:20:02 EST news344505987 A national survey of students in U.S. middle schools and high schools shows some important improvements in levels of substance use. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-12-alcohol-cigarettes-illicit-drugs-declines.html Tue, 16 Dec 2014 15:47:48 EST news337967256 (HealthDay)—The number of visits to U.S. emergency rooms linked to synthetic pot—also known as "K2" or "Spice"—have more than doubled in recent years, U.S. officials reported Thursday. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-10-er-linked-synthetic-pot.html Thu, 16 Oct 2014 09:40:01 EDT news332670638 More college students nationwide have added illicit drugs, such as marijuana and amphetamine, to their back-to-school supply lists. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-09-college-students-marijuana-drugs-declining.html Tue, 09 Sep 2014 07:20:36 EDT news329466027 Two updated booklets about marijuana for teens and their parents will help families sort out marijuana myths from science-based facts. The revamped tools come from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. These booklets are being released during the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Prevention Week 2014 on the day dedicated to the Prevention of Prescription Drug Abuse and Marijuana Use. Marijuana Facts for Teens discusses the often confusing themes of health consequences of marijuana use in this age group, its effect on the developing brain, its addiction risk, and what we know about its potential as a medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-05-nida-tools-teens-marijuana.html Tue, 20 May 2014 13:43:02 EDT news319811923