Synthetic Drug Use on Dramatic Rise Nationwide

Emergency room physicians are seeing a disturbing increase in ER visits for patients needing treatment for synthetic drug use. In 2010, there were almost 3,000 emergency calls to poison control centers for exposure to synthetic marijuana usage and by August of 2011 that number had nearly doubled, according to Market Watch.

President of the ACEP (American College of Emergency Physicians), Dr. David Seaberg, says ER physicians witness how dangerous these synthetic drugs are and how they are harming their users firsthand. Seaberg adds the products contain chemicals imitating the hallucinogenic properties of cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana and methamphetamines and can cause severe paranoia which then can cause users to injure themselves and others.

Every day ER physicians treat patients for a variety of symptoms from these “so-called bath salts” and they range from such things as: chest pain, erratic heartbeat, high blood pressure, nausea, agitation, and paranoia to name a few. Seaberg says the drugs are mislabeled intentionally by manufacturers calling them air fresheners, bath salts and even plant food to trick purchasers into thinking the products are mild and harmless.

Consumers need to be aware that their only true known purpose is for recreational drug consumption. Synthetic drugs have become quite popular among teenagers and young adults and easy to obtain since they are sold on the Internet and in retail outlets. These types of drugs are also known to be extremely addictive to users and cause violent episodes, reduced motor control, impaired perception and extreme paranoia.

So far there have been several tragic outcomes for usage of these synthetic drugs and both cases involved extreme instances resulting in psychotic episodes causing unnecessary deaths. Seaberg added that the problem is only going from bad to worse and lawmakers need to take serious note.