Synthetic Marijuana Causing Spike in St. Paul’s Emergency Calls

Dozens of Minnesotans in the St. Paul area have been having bad reactions to a synthetic “marijuana” product. Some of the reactions reportedly have left some in a “zombie-like” condition. Experts in the area don’t know where the contaminated product is coming from.

The biggest concentration of the reports is near service providers for the downtown homeless population, according to MPR News. Ed Hilbrich of Listening House says it’s a form of K2. Hilbrich has witnessed people collapsing on the street from using the synthetic marijuana substance.

Hilbrich said, “The most predominant reaction to it has been people having seizures and vomiting and kind of (a) blacking out type of response.”

Between April 21 and May 4, there were dozens of runs to the downtown area.

Matt Simpson, assistant chief of  Emergency Medical Services, said, “We’ve been on 56 runs to the area, in the proximity of St. Joseph’s Hospital, Higher Ground and Dorothy Day Center.”

When the affected people are found, some are holding the drug and others are just “catatonic”. So far, experts have been unable to identify the contaminate in the product.

Simpson said, “They’re ingesting something. We just don’t know the substances, but it’s being reported to us as possibly K2 from the user group.”

No one has died, yet, from the synthetic marijuana going around.

Officials warn consumers not to purchase the drug.

Carol Falkowski, a drug researcher, explains that the dealers (sellers) don’t know what it is they’re peddling and buyers have no idea what they’re actually buying.

She said, “Because they’re very cheap. One of the most recent ones was called Flakka. That was several years ago in Miami. It produced a really profound and immediate effect.”

Authorities in St. Paul are considering testing the substance to determine what’s in it. For now, they are doing their due diligence to warn the people of Minnesota about this dangerous form of synthetic marijuana that’s being sold at very low prices.