A third person who experienced severe bleeding after using synthetic marijuana has died in Illinois, health officials confirmed.There are now 107 people in central Illinois and the Chicago area who experienced severe bleeding after using the synthetic pot, often called spice, K2 or fake weed, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. The U.S. federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says most cases are in Illinois but a few others have occurred in Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri and Maryland. Although an official cause of death has not yet been determined, an autopsy detected the presence of brodifacoum, a deadly anticoagulant used in rat poison, which has recently been found in several cases of synthetic marijuana use in Illinois. "This death comes after three Chicago convenience store clerks were charged earlier this the month for allegedly selling the synthetic cannabinoids laced with the known rodent poison, according to police.People who reported illness after taking the drugs said they coughed up blood, had blood in their urine, severe bloody noses, bleeding gums or internal bleeding, according to IDPH The people who died were all men, two in their 20s and one in his 40s. Officials say that while authorities haven't found the substance in New York yet, cases of severe and life-threatening bleeding have been reported in five states: Illinois, Maryland, Wisconsin, Indiana and Missouri. Fake marijuana, also called synthetic cannabinoids, contains man-made chemicals that produce a high similar to marijuana. Marketed as "Spice" or K2, synthetic pot consist of chemicals that are sprayed on “dried, shredded plant material so they can be smoked or sold as liquids to be vaporized and inhaled in e-cigarettes and other devices,” according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The rat poison plague has hit the Land of Lincoln hardest, claiming the lives of two men in their 20s and a man in his 40s, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported. “Synthetic cannabinoids in general are not safe, and this is one example of not knowing what chemicals are in the product.
Synthetic cannabis containing rat poison kills three and injures over 100 across the United States according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.