The state health department along with Colorado officials has launched a wide probe into a recent spate of illnesses from synthetic-marijuana products, including whether three recent deaths are connected, according to Denver Post.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said it is teaming with local health agencies, hospitals and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the investigation, after reports of about 75 recent illnesses.
"Several individuals were in intensive care, and three deaths are being investigated as possibly associated," said Dr. Tista Ghosh, interim chief medical officer for the state. The CDC is sending four people to help with the epidemiological probe, which will look at medical charts of patients reporting the symptoms and study toxicology results.
The announcement comes after metro Denver emergency rooms have seen a surge of new cases they attribute to the material, which often comes in colorful packets - similar in size to those containing, say, hot cocoa - with names such as Spice or Black Mamba.
The illegal drugs are usually pieces of dried herb sprayed with synthetic chemicals that can mimic the effects of marijuana without leaving a THC trace in urine samples.Parents who brought their ailing 26-year-old son to Denver Health Medical Center's emergency room Friday said their son had bought a packet marked Strawberry at a small grocery store near West Evans Avenue and South Federal Boulevard.
Samuel Alvarado Jr. was hallucinating about walking a dog and having arguments with invisible people, then had trouble standing, said his father, Samuel Alvarado. The family believes he had not tried drugs before.He refused an ambulance trip in a paranoid reaction, his father said. Paranoia is a common symptom with the synthetics, medical experts said.
