Tachycardia and altered mental status after smoking “K2″; but what is “K2″?

November 14, 2012, 12:25 am

Acute Intoxication Caused by a Synthetic Cannabinoid in Two Adolescents. Heath TS et al. J Pediatr Pharmacol Ther 2012;17:177-181.

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This paper, from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, describes two teenagers (ages 17 and 15 years) who presented to the emergency department after reportedly smoking a product labelled as “K2″. Both patients presented with altered mental status and tachycardia. In one patient the urine drug screen was negative; in the other it was positive only for cannabinoids. Both recovered rapidly and were discharged the day after admission.

Reports of patients who have inhaled “K2″ smoke often describe tachycardia and altered mental status. Unfortunately, there is not much we can take from this paper, since neither the products involved nor the patients’ blood or urine were tested for any synthetic cannabinoid.

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