
A synthetic marijuana illness outbreak in August is now being blamed for sickening 221 people in Colorado.That comes from a joint investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Colorado health officials.
Of the cases reported in the Denver area and Colorado Springs, 10 victims were admitted into intensive care. While initial reports said three deaths were being investigated in connection with the outbreak, this report said no deaths were reported.
The victims ranged in age from 13 to 55 years old.
The report says the Colorado health and law enforcement officials are looking into whether one of two new variants of synthetic marijuana contributed to the illnesses. One was linked to a similar outbreak in Georgia in August.
Synthetic marijuana is illegal in Colorado. Four stores identified by those who became sick have been closed.
“While these products were identified in the investigation, synthetic marijuana products can be repackaged and sold under many names,” said Dr. Tista Ghosh, interim chief medical officer for the state. “The safe thing for people to do is not use any synthetic marijuana. No brand is safe.”
Product names identified in the investigation are: Black Mamba, Crazy Monkey, Crazy Clown, Dead Man Walking, Funky Monkey, Sexy Monkey, SinX, Spice, TenX, Twilight and 3X.
Source: ABC News