Synthetic Cannabinoids Associated with More Comas and Seizures in Teens

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and André Sofair, MD, MPH

Synthetic cannabinoids are more likely than traditional cannabis to lead to severe neuropsychiatric events in adolescents, a Pediatrics study finds.

Using data from a U.S. toxicology registry, researchers studied roughly 350 teenagers who presented to the emergency department with exposure to a synthetic cannabinoid alone, a synthetic cannabinoid plus another drug, cannabis alone, or cannabis plus another drug. Among the findings:

• One death occurred, in a patient exposed to a synthetic cannabinoid alone.

• Coma or central nervous system depression occurred more often among patients exposed to synthetic cannabinoids alone versus cannabis alone (29% vs. 11%), as did seizures (19% vs. 6%).

• Agitation was more common with synthetic cannabinoids only when other drugs were also used.

• Among adolescents who used more than one drug, synthetic cannabinoid users were more likely than cannabis users to also use sympathomimetics like cocaine and amphetamines (45% vs. 30%).