A third person has died after suffering severe bleeding after using synthetic marijuana, Illinois public health officials report in a Monday, April 9 update.
This comes a week after officials with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services sent out a warning to residents about the spike in issues linked to the use of synthetic marijuana containing brodifacoum in neighboring Illinois.
In its Monday update, the Illinois Department of Public Health said there have been three deaths and a total of 107 known cases of “persistent and severe bleeding” linked to the “fake weed.” As of less than a week ago, the number of known reports was around 70.
Two of the deaths were men in their 20s, and the other man was in his 40s, according to a news release from the department.
“Each day we’ve seen the number of cases rise,” IDPH Director Nirav D. Shah, said in the release. “Synthetic cannabinoids are unsafe. They are not regulated and people don’t know what chemicals may be in them, like rat poison.
“While efforts are underway to get the contaminated drugs out of circulation, it’s possible they could re-emerge. We urge people not to use synthetic cannabinoids now or ever.”
Synthetic marijuana, also known as fake weed, is sold for recreational use under the names K2, Spice, Black Mamba, Bombay Blue, Genie and Zohai, among others. It is a human-made chemical that is sprayed on dried plant materials and intended to be smoked or vaped.
Those who have been affected by the synthetic marijuana with brodifacoum have coughed up blood, experienced blood in the urine, and other reported symptoms include a severe bloody nose, bleeding gums and internal bleeding.
MDHHS noted in its release that if correctly identified, these cases could be treated with doses of vitamin K.
credit:mlive.com
