‘It’s harder to give up than heroin’

Queensland police have raided a sex shop in Mackay after two men who used synthetic cannabis died

Synthetic marijuana is thought to have been the cause of two deaths in QLD last week.

A USER of synthetic cannabis says it is unsafe, harder to give up than heroin and leaves him feeling depressed.

"I feel bad that I've been forced into taking synthetic stuff," *Mark, 39, said.

"I know I've got a choice but I'm addicted. I started taking marijuana when I was 13 then police led a real crackdown and it was impossible to find. I moved to synthetic cannabis 3-4 years ago and it's a coping mechanism for me."

His comments follow the deaths of two men in separate incidents in Queensland last week. Both men had smoked a drug known as 'Spice' which mirrors the effects of marijuana.

Police raided the Love Heart adult shop in Mackay in relation to the deaths of two men. Picture: Annette Dew Source: News Corp Australia

An expert told news.com.au that synthetic cannabis can lead to hallucinations, convulsions and seizures.

Mark, from Western Australia, smokes daily. He said he would give up if he could but he can't.

"It's definitely addictive. Some people say it's harder to give up than heroin. If I have a break, I feel depressed but those feelings eventually subside."

Synthetic cannabis is created when chemicals are sprayed onto plant matter like strawberry plant leaves. It is increasingly popular with the working population who are drug tested because the chemicals used don't show up on traditional screens. The problem is that every "brand" is different and you never know what you're going to get.

"Like all drugs, you have to be careful," Mark said.

There are a range of different synthetic cannabis brands on the market. Source: News Limited

"I don't know if they're safe but do people know all the ingredients in all the synthetic foods they eat every day?"

Professor Michael Farrell from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW said the drug works on the same receptors in the brain as marijuana but has "subtle but important differences". He said side effects include high blood pressure, agitation, convulsions and seizures.

"We need to look at the (Queensland deaths) very carefully to understand exactly how they died but we know that synthetic cannabis will increase brain irritability and reduce the seizure threshold," Prof. Farrell said.

User *Mark said synthetic weed is harder to give up than heroin and leaves him feeling depressed. Source: Supplied

Police have yet to reveal the official cause of death for the 33-year-old and 41-year-old men from Queensland but Dr David Farlow from Mackay Base Hospital said an average of one patient per day had presented to the emergency department in recent weeks with paranoia, hallucinations, twitching of the limbs, respiratory problems or seizures as a result of synthetic cannabis.

Mark said he would be cautious about buying synthetic weed from Queensland.

"If I was buying it in Queensland, I would start looking to get it from somewhere else."

*Mark asked to have his identity withheld. His name has been changed.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

‘It’s harder to give up than heroin’

Dengan url

http://segarasa.blogspot.com/2015/01/aitas-harder-to-give-up-than-heroina.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

‘It’s harder to give up than heroin’

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

‘It’s harder to give up than heroin’

sebagai sumbernya