Episode 23: Synthetic Cannabinoids

This episode is an overview of the dangers of synthetic cannabinoids and some mythbusting about their safety and their similarities to naturally produced cannabinoids. Stay safe, everyone!

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2. Gottlieb, S., Statement from FDA warning about significant health risks of contaminated illegal synthetic cannabinoid products that are being encountered by FDA. US Food and Drug Administration: fda.gov, 2018.

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4. . K2 crackdown in NYC: Police warn of "dangerous batch" after 56 overdoses reported CBS News [Online], 2018. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/k2-crackdown-in-nyc-police-warn-of-dangerous-batch-after-56-overdoses-reported/?intcid=CNI-00-10aaa3a (accessed 01 Apr 2022).

5. Penaloza, M. America's Synthetic Marijuana Overdose Crisis, Explained NPR [Online], 2018. https://www.npr.org/2018/07/27/632261920/d-c-has-had-more-than-300-suspected-k2-overdoses-in-2-weeks (accessed 01 Apr 2022).

6. Walton, A. G. Why Synthetic Marijuana is More Toxic to the Brain than Pot Forbes [Online], 2014. https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2014/08/28/6-reasons-synthetic-marijuana-spice-k2-is-so-toxic-to-the-brain/?sh=779d6b6173b1 (accessed 01 Apr 2022).

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8. Rettner, R. Synthetic marijuana linked to seizures, pyschosis and death Huffpost [Online], 2017. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/synthetic-marijuana-linked-to-seizures-psychosis-and-death_n_5899f9d6e4b0406131395f53 (accessed 04 Apr 2022).

9. Fantegrossi, W. E.;  Moran, J. H.;  Radominska-Pandya, A.; Prather, P. L., Distinct pharmacology and metabolism of K2 synthetic cannabinoids compared to Δ9-THC: Mechanism underlying greater toxicity? Life Sci 2014, 97 (1), 45-54.

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13. Maron, D. F. Fake weed leads to a real drug crisis Scientific American [Online], 2015. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fake-weed-leads-to-a-real-drug-crisis1/ (accessed 04 Apr 2022).

14. The Effects of Mixing Spice (K2) and Alcohol. https://www.alcohol.org/mixing-with/spice-k2/.

15. Sheikh, I. A.;  Lukšič, M.;  Ferstenberg, R.; Culpepper-Morgan, J. A., Spice/K2 synthetic marijuana-induced toxic hepatitus treated with N-acetylcysteine. Am J Case Rep 2014, 15, 584-588.

16. Harris, J. Calls about poisonings from fake marijuana edibles, candy triple News 4 Jax [Online], 2020. https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2020/09/22/calls-about-poisonings-from-fake-marijuana-edibles-candy-triple/ (accessed 06 Apr 2022).