Eighteen people from the Skid Row homeless district were treated by firefighters on Monday and 14 were taken to hospitals, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said.
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For the second time in three days, paramedics have responded after people suddenly got sick in the Skid Row section of downtown Los Angeles from an unidentified illicit substance.
In total, 18 people were found expressing similar symptoms. “People would use or smoke spice at their own peril”.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is issuing a warning against the use of Spice, a synthetic cannabinoid drug that can cause severe side effects such as altered mental status, loss of consciousness, extreme anxiety, agitation, high blood pressure, heart arrhythmias, nausea/vomiting, seizures and death. The street drug is sold under names such as Scooby Snax, K2, Paradise and Black Magic. Synthetic cannabinoids include various psychoactive chemicals or a mixture of such chemicals that are sprayed onto plant material, which is then smoked or ingested. NBC 4 reports that police are investigating the source of the illnesses and believe that it’s possibly connected to the synthetic drug Spice. In April, about 10 people, including a police bicycle officer, were sickened within a 24-hour span in the area of San Pedro and Fifth streets – not far from the latest two incidents – by an unknown substance or intoxicant.
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Skid Row, one of Los Angeles’ most impoverished areas, has a troubled relationship with drugs.
