April 11, 2010

K2 Synthetic Marijuana, Designer Drugs and Episode 214

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MedicCast Episode 214

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A podcast for EMT’s, Paramedics, and other medical providers of all kinds.

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EMS News—–

N.Y. Man Nearly Slices Off Leg with Chainsaw

Paramedics Declare Man Dead Who Was Still Alive

Retired professor makes time to save lives

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Tip This Week — K2 and Synthetic Drugs Overview with Lisa Booze of Maryland Poison Center

K2, Fake weed, spice, and zohai are just some of the names given to synthetic marijuana. It is a chemical that is intended to substitute marijuana and mimics its effects only more potent. It may be a mixture of herbal and spice plant products, but it is sprayed with a potent psychotropic drug and likely contaminated with an unknown toxic substance that is causing many adverse effects. Unlike marijuana, reactions from using K2 include agitation, anxiety, tachycardia, and elevated blood pressure.

There are also synthetic/designer drugs out there like K2 that are contaminated with unknown substances and untested substances making it difficult to identify and predict its effects. EMS providers and health workers in the field should always be on the lookout for cases of synthetic drug use and abuse and coordinate with their local poison centers to help gather information to be used for management and assessment of future cases.

American Association of of Poison Control Centers Press Release

Maryland Poison Center

Article on K2 Causing Hallucinations in Teens

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email me at podmedic@mac.com

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Song this week: Mercury in Summer with “No I Won’t Let You Go”