“Spice” Girls: Synthetic Cannabinoid Intoxication

Background“Spice” refers to various synthetic cannabinoid-containing products that seem to have rapidly become popular recreational drugs of abuse. Very little medical literature currently exists detailing the adverse effects and emergency department (ED) presentations associated with “spice” use.ObjectivesTo describe the presentation of 2 patients who recreationally used a “spice” product and to briefly summarize what is known about “spice” and synthetic cannabinoids.Case ReportTwo patients presented to the ED with, predominantly, anxiety after recreationally using a “spice” product that we subsequently confirmed to contain the synthetic cannabinoids, JWH-018 and JWH-073.ConclusionWe suspect that use of “spice” products may increase. Although anxiety was a prominent presentation in both of the patients described here, undoubtedly, future studies will describe the manifestations of intoxication and toxicity with the various synthetic cannabinoids.