Activity 3

Mir et al’s research article “Myocardial Infarction Associated With Use of the Synthetic Cannabinoid K2” explores K2 and presents 3 cases in which there was ST-elevation MI associated with recent exposure to the synthetic cannabis product. The article explains that John W. Huffman developed the most popular synthetic cannabinoid in order to research the effects of cannabinoids on the brain and peripheral receptors and possible medical uses for THC. These products are reported to have stronger physiologic effects than natural cannabis but there is a lack of information about the chemical composition and toxicology of the chemicals in these drugs. All three cases were sixteen-year-old boys that came into the ER with chest pains after smoking K2 and marijuana. The article goes on to explain that marijuana and cocaine have led to MI in adolescents. Additionally, the article explains the effects marijuana and THC have on the cardiovascular system. An interesting point the article makes is that the makers of these synthetic drugs have the advantage of knowing what components are detectable so they are able to alter the chemical composition of the drug in order to bypass drug testing. I think this is important because this shows that you never are guaranteed what you are consuming and the safety risk of consuming these products is very high. Although the article states that there is not much data regarding synthetics, I think that it is important that the researchers explained the effects the marijuana has on the cardiovascular system because the synthetic drugs are somewhat similar. I thought this research was very interesting. I did not realize that marijuana and THC had a large effect on the cardiovascular system. Additionally, another element I thought was significant in this article was the researchers suggestions on how to handle the synthetic drugs and their advice that health care providers should be alert of these substances despite negative drug screenings, and that further research of these products is essential.

Schneir et al’s “Spice” Girls: Synthetic Cannabinoid Intoxication research article presented two patients that used spice recreationally and recorded their reactions. It is stated that the appeal of synthetic products includes a legal high and the inability to urine drug tests to detect. At the time of this research, there was very little information of the effects of smoking this substance. As for the two case studies, the two girls each shared a packet of the synthetic substance and each ended up in the ER with feelings of disorientation, anxiety, tremulous, and were experiencing heart palpitations. Each girl had normal vital signs otherwise, however the younger girl was experiencing tachycardia. It is also stated in the article that the packets are labeled “not for human consumption”. The DEA has made some synthetic cannabinoids schedule I drugs; however the article does not reveal any extreme harm from use. I thought it was interesting that the researchers only used two girls for testing with only one type of synthetic marijuana. I think there should be a much larger testing group using a wide variety of types of synthetics. I don’t think just the two girls were an adequate way to research this issue. Additionally, it didn’t seem to me that there were any conclusive findings in the research. I also thought it was interesting that the packets are labeled “not for human consumption”. That leaves one to wonder why someone would chose to use this drug and think that it is safe. I think that even though the article did not find any “harmful” effects, that does not necessarily mean there are not any due to the fact that the article mentioned there has not been much medical literature and the article itself did not really provide any conclusive or supported findings.

Halpern et al’s research article “Residual neurocognitive features of long-term ecstasy users with minimal exposure to drugs” explores ecstasy and the cognitive function in users with minimal exposure to other illicit drugs or alcohol. The study used 111 participants- 52 ecstasy users and 59 non-users. The results of this study were that both groups appeared similar in many measures, but users were more frequently reported with lower levels of parental education and lower vocabulary skills, and use of the non-dominant hand. The researchers go on to explain that these differences may not even be due to neurotoxicity of ecstasy. The negative findings of this research are inconstant with many past studies and recent studies. I think that the methods of this study were effective because the researchers controlled for factors that previous studies had not. As for the findings, I was very surprised of the negative findings because I thought that ecstasy use would have been a significant effect on cognitive function. I think that this study is has a lot of significance because it shows contradicting evidence. Further, I think this study proves that there should be more research done on the use of ecstasy and the effect this drug has on humans.