CHICAGO _ Two people have died and 56 have been sickened in the Chicago area and central Illinois after using synthetic pot, popularly known as K2 and Spice, state officials said Monday.
Over the weekend, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced that one person had died after using synthetic cannabinoid products, but on Monday the state agency announced that a second person had perished. Nearly half of those sickened were in the Peoria area and more than 20 were in the Chicago area. Generally, those who became ill after using the drug were hospitalized for internal bleeding as well as blood coming from the ears, eyes and mouth.
The names of the two who died have not been made public, but state public health officials said the deaths took place in the Chicago area and in central Illinois, according to a news release.
In Peoria County, the county coroner was investigating the death of a 22-year-man who was being counted by the Illinois Department of Public Health as one of the fatalities in the outbreak. However, the cause and manner of the man's death were pending toxicology results, said Jamie Harwood, the Peoria County coroner. Those tests could take 20 to 30 days to complete.
The man had reportedly used K2 before he was hospitalized for severe internal bleeding, Harwood said. He was pronounced dead at 6:30 a.m. Thursday, according to the coroner's office.
Just west of Chicago, suburban Kane County was investigating a death that could be linked to the outbreak, according to officials from the coroner's office. Additional information about the death was not immediately available.
The reports of the deaths come as the state continues to see an uptick in the number of people hospitalized for severe bleeding after using synthetic cannabinoid products. In total, 56 people have been hospitalized in Illinois since March 10, according to the health department.
Of that total, 17 people have been hospitalized in Chicago and five others in Cook County, according to the health department. At least 14 people have been hospitalized in Peoria County. In adjoining Tazewell County, 12 people have hospitalized, state officials said.
Synthetic cannabinoid is a manmade mixture of hundreds of chemicals that affect the same brain cell receptors as the main ingredient in marijuana. The substance can be sprayed on a plant material so it can be smoked, or it can be sold as a liquid form to be used in e-cigarettes or other similar devices, according to the health department.
In the recent outbreak, nine people tested positive for brodifacoum, commonly used as rat poison.
Exposure to the chemical causes the human body to block its natural use of vitamin K, which helps in the process of blood clotting, said Dr. Patrick Lank, a medical toxicologist who works at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. A person who has been exposed to brodifacoum would have to take high doses of vitamin K for weeks to months to manage their symptoms.
The health department sent a memo to pharmacists advising them to stress to patients that over-the-counter vitamin K supplements were not potent enough to treat this condition.
Tazewell County hasn't had any reported deaths tied to the outbreak, said Brian Foley, the county coroner. While he doesn't want to see those types of cases, he is expecting his office will have to handle deaths related to the outbreak at some point.
"I do expect that to change," he said. "It's the nature of the beast."
In Indiana, at least two people were hospitalized for severe bleeding after using synthetic pot, according to the Indiana State Department of Health. Officials there would not specify in what county the cases took place but said none have involved minors.
Missouri and Wisconsin have not had reports of synthetic pot users being hospitalized for severe bleeding.
Anyone experiencing a reaction to synthetic cannabinoid product is urged to call 911 or to seek immediate medical treatment.
