AUSTIN (KVUE)-- The number of patients being treated for adverse reactions to K2, or synthetic marijuana, has grown to 288 as of Saturday morning, according to the Austin-Travis County EMS.
The number grew by nearly 20 in just the last 24 hours. And each case is making wait times grow in local emergency rooms.
"It's a bigger problem now than it's ever been before," said Dr. Elizabeth Oehler. "If a patient is needing a bed for four or six or eight hours for the effects of the drug to wear off, then, unfortunately, we aren't able to put other patients into those beds in a timely fashion."
The problem is not confined to Central Texas.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monthly calls to all poison centers over synthetic cannabinoid use increased by 330 percent from January to April.
The CDC said the most commonly reported adverse health effects were: agitation, tachycardia, drowsiness or lethargy, vomiting, and confusion. So far, a total of 15 deaths have been reported to the CDC.
Manufacturers of K2, a type of synthetic marijuana, change what's in the drugs to stay ahead of laws banning them, meaning that drug users react in different ways. Some people can become aggressive while others become comatose.
Doctors, law enforcement and lawmakers hope that the number of cases will go down in September when a new synthetic marijuana law goes into effect.
