Dangerous synthetic marijuana in northern Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In our continued efforts to stop the supply of illegal drugs, make our communities safer and protect the lives of our children, DEA and our law enforcement partners constantly monitor drug trends, demand shifts and drug supply increases. As such, our criminal intelligence networks have indicated an increase in overdoses related to the use of synthetic marijuana which is also known as “spice.” Throughout the past year, there have been several instances across the United States that have seen an acute increase in overdoses related to the use of synthetic marijuana. These outbreaks have routinely been traced to a specific supply of synthetic marijuana. The spikes in overdoses are normally geographically connected, and we have seen this trend recently in northern Alabama.
“The sudden increase in synthetic marijuana overdoses is alarming and should not be taken lightly,” said DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Clay Morris. “Often, drug dealers target the most innocent – our children – and attempt to get them to try ‘spice.’ Parents and children need to be educated about the dangers of substances such as these and ensure that they never start using them. In many cases, these types of synthetic drugs are more dangerous than the drugs they are made to mimic. The use of these drugs is like playing Russian roulette and you will not know the outcome of the game until it’s too late. You do not know what you are putting into your body and the consequences can be deadly. It says right on the ‘spice’ packages they are not for human consumption.”
“We have begun to notice a disturbing trend through our crime intelligence networks of overdoses related to synthetic marijuana in our district,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Town. “Today, we are joining together with our law enforcement partners to warn the public that the use of any synthetic illicit narcotic, such as synthetic marijuana, fentanyl and other opioids, could result in a fatal overdose by the user, especially if there are unknown additives in the narcotic. As always, our goal is to save lives.”
Parents and children are encouraged to educate themselves about the dangers of drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.JustThinkTwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.
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