Pubdate: Fri, 30 May 2014
Source: Palm Beach Post, The (FL)
Copyright: 2014 The Palm Beach Post
Contact:  http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/333
Author: John Lantigua
Page: A1

FLA. TRACKS SYNTHETIC DRUG DEATHS

Report Says Synthetics Caused 30 Deaths in the First Six Months of
2013.

While deaths due to overdoses of prescription drugs continue to
decline in Florida, law enforcement officials are trying to control
the use of dangerous substances being disguised as other products and
sold over the counter - synthetic drugs commonly known as bath salts.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi Thursday issued a report by
Florida's medical examiners that shows drugs present in the bodies of
people who died of overdoses. Such reports are issued regularly, but
for the first time deaths caused by synthetic drugs are included.

The report covers the first six months of 2013. It says 77 people who
died due to drug abuse had synthetic drugs in their systems and in 30
of those cases synthetic drugs caused the deaths. The most commonly
used synthetic drugs mimic the effects of cocaine and
methamphetamines, and are known as bath salts. Another such drug is
synthetic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, which becomes
dangerous when taken in too concentrated a dosage.

Before 2011, gas stations, convenience stores and smoke shops stocked
products called bath salts and were labeled "not for human
consumption," but drug users bought them to get high, usually by
snorting or smoking them. They were marketed under names like Cloud 9,
Scoobie Snacks, Spice and K2. Sold in other forms

Florida declared the sale of such products illegal, but law
enforcement agents complain the same substances are marketed under
other guises, as stain removers, glass cleaners, aroma therapy powders
and energy products. Sales have increased over the Internet, and
producers are constantly changing their chemistry and distribution
systems to evade the law.

"For the first time, we now have statistics on deaths caused by
synthetic drugs, and this information is crucial to both raising
awareness about how deadly these drugs are and understanding just how
many lives these drugs claim," said Bondi in a press release that
accompanied the report.

She presented the report with Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Commissioner Gerald Bailey.

"Deaths involving synthetics are also troublesome, especially as (the
drugs) continue to be sold at some convenience stores and smoke
shops," Bailey said.

According to drug abuse experts, MDPV, the chemical found in bath
salts, can cause psychosis, paranoia, panic attacks, hallucinations,
seizures and kidney failure.

Teri Barbera, spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff 's Office,
referred a reporter to two arrests in Boca Raton in the past six
weeks. In both cases the person arrested had consumed bath salts.

One occurred April 17 and involved a man, 23, who told a friend that
"he was starting to see demons." As the friend tried to drive him to a
hospital, the man jumped from the car, went to the fourth floor of a
condominium building, dove through a window and then jumped from a
fourth floor balcony. Police found him badly bloodied, but he survived.

In the other incident, May 6, a woman, 33, was found running naked
through the streets a few minutes before noon.

"She had to be restrained by three deputies due to an abnormal display
of strength," said the police report. "She said she was running away
from demons." 'Agitated, confused'

Those police reports will come as no surprise to Dr. Scott McFarland,
medical director of the emergency department at Palm Beach Gardens
Medical Center. He describes patients arriving at the emergency room
under the influence of bath salts.

"Agitated, confused, hallucinating," he says. "Pulse high, 160 to 180;
blood pressure 200 over 100. They refuse to be restrained. Wild,
sleepless, psychotic."

McFarland says since Florida moved to outlaw synthetic drugs he has
seen a reduction in the number of cases that involve bath salts, known
as "spices." But he says he still sees overdoses from drugs and
combinations of drugs every day.

According to law enforcement agents, the latest version of bath salts
is coming not only from illegal laboratories in the U.S., but also
from China and India.

"Parents have to assume their children will be exposed to drugs,"
McFarland says. "They need to convince their children the results can
be catastrophic. These drugs are coming from unlicensed laboratories.
There is no way to know what you are putting in your body."

The report also said that abuse of prescription drugs continues to
kill more Floridians than use of illegal drugs, but that the numbers
are going down. In the first six months of 2013, 975 deaths were
caused by prescription drug use - a decline from 1,054 deaths during
the first six months of 2012.
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