Forum discusses dangers of abusing synthetic drugs

By Lynn A. Wade

Herald-Tribune

Tuesday evening, a small crowd of parents and community members gathered at Nevada High School to learn of the dangers of synthetic drug use, at a public forum presented by the Synthetic Drug Task Force.

"What we want you to know is that it is very, very dangerous," said Shane Hirshman, a probation and parole officer and member of the task force.

Nevada police officer John Foster told of some of his encounters with people under the influence of substances like K-2 (synthetic marijuana) and other substances known as potpourri or bath salts. Foster said they're paranoid, agitated, and often don't know where they are; they often don't remember the incident later, either.

"I don't understand why you'd want to do something that's supposed to be so much fun, but you can't even remember it," he said.

In October, new laws went into effect giving law enforcement more tools to combat the sale and abuse of these substances, although it's difficult, because street chemists are continually changing the chemical makeup of such products.

That constant element of change also makes it difficult for health care professionals to help people who have ingested synthetic drugs.

Kelly McLemore, interim emergency department director at Nevada Regional Medical Center, told of an incident in which a young man who'd used a synthetic substance 12 hours earlier was brought to the emergency room. "I was afraid for him. His family must have been extremely afraid," she said.

The man was hallucinating, crawling under and over furniture, and "had no clue where he was," or why he was there, she said.

And it's difficult to treat, because in many cases the medical professionals cannot determine exactly what chemicals have been ingested.

Synthetic drugs can cause "acute toxicity," and users no longer behave as themselves. "We don't know how long," the change in behavior and symptoms like hallucinations, agitation, paranoia, chest pain, increased body temperature and so on will last. Patients also can have suicidal thoughts, but that might not occur for hours, days, or even months after using the drugs, McLemore noted.

There's a high risk, too, of overdose, because such products aren't regulated that way, since they're labeled "not for human consumption."

Parents or concerned friends shouldn't hesitate to seek medical or law enforcement help if needed in connection with suspected synthetic drug use --doing so could save a life, officials said.

Foster also noted that the Nevada Police Department has specially trained crisis intervention officers available to respond to such incidents as well.