Synthetic cannabinoid AMB-FUBINACA responsible for July 2016 “zombie” episode

4 out of 5 stars “Zombie” Outbreak Caused by the Synthetic Cannabinoid AMB-FUBINACA in New York, Adams AJ et al. N Engl J Med 2016 Dec 14 [Epub ahead of print] Abstract  On July 12, 2016, the New York Times reported that in the course of one day, in the Bushwick and Bedford-Stuyvesant areas of Brooklyn, 33 people had been transported to hospitals after apparently overdosing on a synthetic cannabinoid. The major manifestations shown by the victims were altered mental status and lethargy. One observer described what he say at the scene: “’It’s like a scene out of a zombie movie, a horrible scene’ said Brian Arthur, 38, who watched three people collapse as he made his way to work in the morning and began live-streaming the episode on Facebook. ‘This drug truly paralyzed people.’” The video above was taken by Mr. Arthur at the scene, posted it to Facebook, and according to a report in the  Guardian (U.K.) said that the scene as looking like “Zombieland.” This paper describes the outbreak and subsequent investigation: “The clinical features in this outbreak were typified by the index patient, a man who was 28 years of age and who was described by EMS providers at the scene as being slow to respond to questioning and as having a ‘blank stare.’ . . .He had intermittent periods of ‘zombielike’ groaning and slow mechanical movements of the arms and legs.” This patient’s vital signs were...
Source: The Poison Review - Category: Toxicology Authors: Tags: Medical AMB-FUBINACA Brooklyn synthetic cannabinoid zombie Source Type: news