Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman recently appeared on an episode of WITF’s “Smart Talk” to discuss the history of synthetic marijuana – commonly called K2 or Spice – in our county.
Special Agent Patrick Trainor of the Drug Enforcement Administration also joined the conversation, discussing synthetic marijuana’s characteristics, dangerous effects, and how it makes its way to Lancaster County.
Well over 100 synthetic marijuana-related overdose incidents were reported in Lancaster County between July 7 and 17.
District Attorney Stedman explained it was one of three time periods in Lancaster County when synthetic marijuana was causing widespread overdose incidents to include seizures, high blood pressure, and violent, combative patients. The other two happened in early 2015 (into summer) and early 2016.
Unlike with opioid overdose patients, first-responders do not have the option of using Narcan, which can reverse an overdose.
“There is no real antidote for this,” Stedman said on the show. “It puts everybody at risk.”
Here are 5 other things from the show you might not have known about synthetic marijuana:
- It is manufactured in rogue laboratories out of the country
- It is commonly smuggled, nationally, into prisons because it is odorless
- It is more like an opposite of traditional marijuana; synthetic marijuana is chemically manufactured
- It does not show up on traditional drug tests
- Domestic production of it is rare
Listen to the entire episode here: https://goo.gl/TdGAu2
MEDIA CONTACT: Brett A. Hambright, 717-295-2041; bhambright@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @BrettHambright