Complication of Spice Use in a Deployed Combat Setting - Seizure While on Duty

Abstract

Synthetic cannabinoids, also known as Spice, have become increasingly popular since they went on the public market in 2004. Due to the inability to detect Spice on routine urine drug screens, easy accessibility online and in local stores, and the "legal high" it provides, it is appealing to military communities. In addition, soldiers and sailors were among the earliest users of Spice in the United States. Reports describing the adverse reactions, clinical effects, and complications of Spice are limited. The normal effects of Spice are generally similar to the euphoria provided by cannabis. Commonly reported adverse reactions to Spice include paranoia, scleral injection, xerostomia, visual persecutory hallucinations, sedation, and agitation. We present a case of a deployed soldier who had a seizure after smoking Spice while on duty, and just after working with heavy machinery.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2012
Accession Number
ADA616167

Entities

People

  • Sasha Ramirez
  • Shawn M. Varney
  • Vikhyat S Bebarta

Organizations

  • San Antonio Military Medical Center

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Availability
  • Classification
  • Contracts
  • Drug Withdrawal
  • Information Operations
  • Instructions
  • Intoxication
  • Monitoring
  • Organizational Structure
  • Security
  • Standards
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse Science in Autism Spectrum Disorders.
  • Educational Psychology
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3
  • Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control