Journal Article

“Zombie” Outbreak Caused by the Synthetic Cannabinoid AMB-FUBINACA in New York

Gerona, Roy, Banister, Samuel D, Irizarry, Lisandro, Adams, Axel J, Trecki, Jordan, Schwartz, Michael

2017

Overview

Eighteen patients in a street-drug–induced stupor were seen in EDs on a single day in a New York City neighborhood. With rapid cooperative efforts among physicians, police, public health authorities, and toxicologists, the cannabinoid AMB-FUBINACA was identified as the cause. Commonly abused drugs are undergoing a period of proliferation and diversification, with a corresponding increase in the challenges faced by emergency and critical care physicians, substance abuse professionals, psychiatrists, and toxicologists. New psychoactive substances provide users with alternatives to older and better-characterized drugs of abuse, such as amphetamines, heroin, cocaine, and cannabis. Of the more than 540 new psychoactive substances that have been reported to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 1 synthetic cannabinoids are the fastest growing class, with more than 177 identified by the agency in 2014 and 24 new synthetic cannabinoids reported by Europol in 2015. . . .

• Publisher: Massachusetts Medical Society
• Subject: Adult / Cannabinoids / Cannabinoids - adverse effects / Cannabinoids - blood / Cannabinoids - urine / Disease Outbreaks / Drug abuse / Drug Discovery / Humans / Incense / Indazoles - adverse effects / Indazoles - blood / Indazoles - urine / Intoxication / Lethargy - chemically induced / Lethargy - epidemiology / Liquid chromatography / Male / Mass spectroscopy / Medical personnel / Middle Aged / New York City - epidemiology / Outbreaks / Psychotropic drugs / Public health / Street Drugs - adverse effects / Urine / Valine - adverse effects / Valine - analogs & derivatives / Valine - blood / Valine - urine