A sharp rise in visits to emergency rooms and calls to poison control centers nationwide has some health officials fearing that more potent and dangerous variations of a popular drug known as spice have reached the nation’s streets, resulting in several deaths.
In the first three weeks of April, state poison control centers received about 1,000 reports of adverse reactions to spice — the street name for a family of synthetic substances that mimic the effects of marijuana — more than doubling the total from January through March, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.
The cases, which can involve spice alone or in combination with other substances, have appeared four times as often this year as in 2014, the organization said. On Thursday alone there were 172 reports, by far the most in one day this year.
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Experts were unsure whether the increase this month in spice-related emergencies reflected greater use of the drug or a particularly dangerous formulation. Mr. Ryan said a large portion of cases appeared to involve a form called mab-chminaca.
Law enforcement agencies, from the Drug Enforcement Administration to local police departments, have struggled to control the flow of synthetic cannabinoids, marijuana-looking substances that are sprayed with a hallucinogenic chemical and then smoked. Those chemicals, typically imported from China by American distributors, come in hundreds of varieties; new formulations appear monthly, with molecules subtly tweaked to try to skirt the D.E.A.’s list of illegal drugs as well as drug-detecting urine tests.
Although the entire class of drugs is illegal because of the psychological effects, each new variety can present distinct health risks caused by its underlying chemistry or contaminants in renegade manufacturing facilities. Experts warn that the popular term “synthetic marijuana” is a misnomer, as the substances merely resemble marijuana but can be 100 times more potent.
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Ms. Stallings said that Jeffrey, 24, and Joey, 29, smoked a type of spice known as “mojo” that they received from a dealer. She said that Jeffrey became delusional, thinking that a woman was bleeding in their hallway, and extremely violent; Joey became extremely agitated before she took them to the hospital.
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“It’s been more than 90 percent hospitals this year,” Mr. Ryan said. “It’s not, ‘Hey, I smoked this thing and I don’t feel well.’ It’s, ‘This guy’s trying to tear up the E.R. and we have him locked down in restraints. We don’t know what he’s taken. What do we do?’”
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