ILLINOIS (WAND) – A fourth person in Illinois has died from synthetic cannabinoid use, according to state health leaders.
Health officials say the latest person to die was a central Illinois woman in her 30s. The other people killed include two men in their 20s and another man in his 40s. Health officials say synthetic cannabinoids laced with rat poison have caused over 150 people in 13 Illinois counties to get sick.
The Illinois Department of Public Health did not say where in central Illinois the woman is from in a Tuesday press release. Her name is not public at this time.
A chemical in rat poison called brodifacoum stops blood from clotting, which can lead to severe bleeding. IDPH leaders say synthetic cannabinoids can cause people to cough up blood, have blood in the urine, or start dealing with internal bleeding.
“We continue to see new cases of individuals experiencing severe bleeding after using synthetic cannabinoids,” IDPH Director Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D. said. “Like so many other drugs, synthetic cannabinoids are addictive and people are not able to give them up. Alternatively, they think that it won’t happen to them because they know their dealer or trust wherever they purchased the drugs. If you know someone who uses synthetic cannabinoids, tell them these are deadly products and try to help them get treatment.”
IDPH leaders say they’re working on helping people find the treatment they need for synthetic cannabinoid use, which usually involves a lot of vitamin K. A person would have to take up to 30 tablets a day for up to six months in order to restore the blood’s ability to clot.
Bausch Foundation and Valeant Pharmaceuticals just gave close to 800,000 tables to the state government in order to allow people to find free treatment.
Find more information about synthetic cannabinoids at this link.
