Image: Flickr
Synthetic marijuana, already known to cause a number of serious side effects in users, has now been found to cause kidney damage, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Last year, 16 people in six states suffered serious kidney damage, requiring a visit to hospital emergency departments after smoking synthetic marijuana, the report said. Nearly all individuals affected were young males (ages 15 to 33), and most experienced nausea, vomiting and abdominal or back pain, which are symptoms of kidney damage. None of those sickened had a history of kidney disease. All the patients had high blood levels of creatinine, a breakdown product that is removed from the body by the kidneys.
Synthetic marijuana is a mixture of herbs and chemical additives that are typically smoked, and referred to by a number of names, including K2, Spice and fake weed, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse. The product was declared illegal in the U.S. in July 2012. Synthetic marijuana acts on the same brain cell receptors as natural marijuana, but are more likely to cause hallucinations and heart problems. Synthetic marijuana has also been linked to an increased risk of seizures. [See Why Synthetic Marijuana Is More Dangerous Than the Real Thing.]
Researchers aren't certain what caused the kidney damage. But an analysis of synthetic marijuana samples smoked by the people involved showed that five samples contained a compound called XLR-11, which has only recently been found in synthetic marijuana products and might have been responsible for the kidney damage, the researchers said. Most of the patients recovered within three days of their symptoms.
The new report suggests that doctors who care for otherwise healthy teens and young adults who have unexplained kidney damage should ask about synthetic marijuana use, the CDC said.
The report is published this week in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Pass it on:Synthetic marijuana may cause kidney damage.
- The Old Drug Talk: 7 New Tips for Today's Parents
- 8 Strange Signs You're Having an Allergic Reaction
- 10 Medical Myths that Just Won't Go Away
Copyright 2013 MyHealthNewsDaily, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
See what we're tweeting about
8 Comments
Add CommentI wish they would quit calling it synthetic marijuana, it has no real relation to it at all.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisJust stick with what works, you can't improve on the classics.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy weren't these compounds treated under the Designer Drug Act of 1986 or 1992?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think this another observation that needs to be reported of wasted tax payers dollars being spent on redundant wasteful behavior in which human life is wasted and devalued and made into a liability because waste’oid junkies run the DEA and related narco domestic terrorist groups to fund their Department Of Justice ran racketeering profiteering criminal syndicate corporations.
Why isn't the mainstream corporate media news exposing the latest Federal Corporation/Co-operation with Mexican Narco Cartels?
None of the noted cannabinoid compounds should have ever been allowed on the street. Brain damaged killers in the DOJ related agencies need to stop brain damaging the public and public trust domains civilians to make cases which only incriminate themselves and the public trust they are supposed to represent and be civil servants for.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe below is a decent run through of the "Fake Weed" analogs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_weed
Keep in mind the federal government also has some of their own patented cannabinoid[1] related compounds they’ve proven are effective as medicine or nutraceutical supplement. US patent number 6,630,507, "Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants", was filed in 2001 and was granted in 2003. The patent, assigned to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, states:
"Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia."
The patent asserts cannabinoids are shown to help in treating stroke, heart attack, inflammation, and autoimmune disorders.[2][3][4]
Another concern I have is the potential for other anticholinergic drugs and specifically glycolate anticholinergics being vectored into the black market or legal market drug supply. Seems I’ve read of quinoline and tricyclic compounds being potential vectors also though I cannot find the article at the moment.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWith adulterant compounds being the main issue here, the attention needs to be placed on the pharmacovilagence and due dilligence of the public trust in detecting and treating incidents and deviations so that consumers are protected as the public trusts intent is to protect the public that entrusted the public trust to exist. Not to give everyone a government job and make wards of everyone so there is no more public civillians left. All I see in these DOJ related acts are poor exuceses to justify worthless jobs that only devalue the public and the public trust by making liabilities and damaging anything they can entrap.
The DOJ actors seem to produce and manufacture nothing but crime by entraping.
The public needs to ask the question, “Why are the DOJ actors not producing or manufacturing assets?”
Assets are what makes value. Duh…, now we see a root cause of the U.S. financial meltdown… The People were and are being devalued into liabilities and not maintained or developed into assets.
References:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabinoid
2. Patent on Pot | Fox News
3. On Intellectual Property and Pot - Law Blog - WSJ
4. United States Patent: 6630507
The anti-drug goons are out again. Sixteen cases out of how many million users? The commonest nephrotoxins are the numerous prescription drugs.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat is needed is the de-criminalisation of drug use in general. It is a serious waste of money to police, leads to the dangerous use of substances such as this synthetic compound and the criminalisation of people who are doing no wrong to anyone other than perhaps themselves. Not to mention the corruption within law enforcement and political circles who have a vested interest in keeping it illegal for their own financial benifit.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSYNTHETICHIGH.ORG
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis site is for anyone wanting to find understanding of what synthetic pot/drugs are, their symptoms, how there used, treatment, and Support. Having been a user myself, I found no place to help me get better. Thanks to the support of my wife I have a vision to turn something so bad into something so good “Synthetic High”. We hope to offer online counseling, interactive chat/support and a place for people to share there experience and comment on others experience. We welcome any ideas, or input visitors might have as to how we can best serve the cause to fight Synthetic High’s.