Synthetic Marijuana Abuse Rising in Tampa Area

April 21, 2016

The number of people overdosing from synthetic marijuana in the Tampa Bay area continues to increase in April after a large spike in March.

Tampa authorities reported receiving more than 100 emergency calls related to Spice, a generic term for synthetic marijuana, after receiving just 17 calls in February. They’re on track to surpass March’s total in April.

Tampa’s district one fire rescue received more than 30 calls during the first week of April, according to WFTS Tampa Bay.

“Our station alone is probably doing at least that,” Fire Rescue Captain Stephen White told ABC Action News. “Then as we’re out on calls, other stations are having to come into the downtown area … While we’re on a call we’re usually passing another (Spice overdose) and getting a call right after we leave this one.”

More than 50 ingredients commonly included in Spice are outlawed federally, and a Tampa city ordinance outlaws stores from selling drugs such as Spice and K2. However, drug makers dodge laws by lacing the drugs with dangerous, legal ingredients.

“Bleach, rat poison, fertilizer all kinds of things they’re lacing it with,” White said. “That’s why we don’t know what’s going to happen to each individual person.”

Authorities suspect a new batch of dangerous Spice entered the area and is making people sick. In early March, Tampa Fire Rescue teams responded to 30 calls during a five-day period. Law enforcement reacted by holding a press conference on March 11.

“It’s something our patients are able to access in gas stations,” Rachel Semmons, assistant medical director of Tampa General Hospital’s emergency department, told the Tampa Bay Times in March. “We’re concerned that the public is not aware of how dangerous this drug may be.”

Authorities reported patients suffering from severe side effects such as cardiac arrest, seizures, strokes and heart attacks. Others experienced hallucinations and delirium, according to the Times.

“They are increasingly violent or non-cooperative and combative, which poses a danger to us,” Fire Chief Bryan Riley told the Times. “But it poses a higher danger to themselves. They are taking a chance with their life, basically, using these drugs.”

Spice Spilling Over to St. Petersburg, Clearwater

About a week after law enforcement held the March press conference, St. Petersburg officials announced that they’d received 28 emergency calls involving suspected Spice overdoses.

Around the same time, Clearwater officials reported receiving dozens of overdose calls. According to Fox 13, city officials could not prove a link to the Tampa cases, but they were not ruling out a connection.

Crest Lake Park in Clearwater was one of the most prevalent sites of overdoses. Law enforcement reported receiving up to three calls involving Spice overdoses at the park in a single day. Fox 13 claims the homeless population that frequents the park was among the suspected consumers of the drug.

In St. Petersburg, a large number of calls involving suspected Spice overdoses were received from around the Fourth Avenue and 15th Street intersection. The police department was awaiting tests to confirm that the chemicals present in the drugs were those used in Spice.

“You wonder when somebody’s going to have a heart attack and die from some of these substances,” Clearwater Police Spokesman Rob Shaw told Fox 13.

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View Sources

• Cortez, J. (2016, March 20). Overdose of Synthetic Marijuana Leads to 21 People Admitted to Hospital. Retrieved from http://www.tampabayreview.com/news/rtb-overdose-of-synthetic-marijuana-leads-to-21-people-admitted-to-the-hospital/3232/
• Lambert, E. (2016, March 19). Clearwater Police: Spice abuse ‘unprecedented’. Retrieved from http://www.fox13news.com/news/local-news/109890221-story
• Marrero, T. (2016, March 11). Tampa officials alarmed by spike in synthetic marijuana incidents. Retrieved from http://www.home.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/tampa-officials-plan-to-discuss-jump-in-synthetic-marijuana-incidents/2268840
• Rosario, S. (2016, April 15). Tampa Firefighters struggle to keep up with Spice calls. Retrieved from http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-tampa/downtown-tampa/tampa-firefighters-struggle-to-keep-up-with-Spice-calls

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