Fake weed, Synthetic cannabinoids, kill two in Illinois

Synthetic cannabinoids have been tied to at least 2 deaths among the 56 cases of severe bleeding in central Illinois. The users of the drug, often also referred to as fake week, K2, or Spice, were hospitalized due to coughing up of blood, bloody nose, blood in urin, and bleeding gums among other symptoms.


Fake weed are human-made drug, sort of a mix of chemicals, that can include rat poison for example. They can be smoked as a joint, or through an e-cigarette. The chemicals are similar to marijuana, but compared to marijuana, they can cause serious side effects. According to one study it can be 85 times more potent than THC, the chemical found in natural marijuana.

People using the synthetic cannabinoids can experience kidney failure, heart attack, seizures. They can also cause vomiting, violent behavior, rapid heart rate, confusion, suicidal thoughts. And in Illinois, severe bleeding. Why it's different there is still unknown.


Between 2010 and 2015 physicians treated 456 patients for synthetic cannabinoid intoxications, according to CDC. Last year 102 people in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, overdoses on synthetic marijuana.