First responders warn of violent synthetic drug overdoses

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Cheyenne Wuebker knows what a spice overdose looks like. The Lafayette EMT can usually detect it as soon as she arrives on scene.

“You can usually tell from people’s movements,” she said. “The way they may be walking, the way they’re talking.”

Spice is synthetic marijuana, and it’s been around for years. But its effects are nothing like the real thing. Local first responders say those effects have gotten more intense over the years.

“People can scratch, they can bite, they can punch, if they have a weapon, they may be inclined to use a weapon as well,” Wuebker said.

“Whatever’s in the spice that they’re using is making it stronger,” said Lafayette Police Captain Scott Galloway.

And officer body cam footage shows what police on the street are seeing firsthand.

Galloway showed 13News recent video footage to illustrate just how violent those overdoses can be.

Video shows suspects screaming, kicking and seemingly crying out in pain.

“This is not something where people just veg out,” he said. “This is like PCP. They fight, bite, kick, have convulsions, writhe in pain.”

It’s particularly dangerous because of its unpredictability. The product is sprayed with household chemicals of all kinds. Earlier this summer, Lafayette first responders rushed several people in a row to the hospital.

“And that caught our eye…you know, (we thought) maybe somebody mixed something in the spice causing more of a reaction than normal,” Galloway said.

Wuebker is an EMT for Phoenix Paramedic Solutions and heads up its Quick Response Team, made up of first responders who go into the community to help people suffering from substance abuse or mental illness.

“Spice is something that’s really easily accessible and not as expensive as other substances out on the street right now. So it’s a really popular drug right now for people to use,” she said. “It’s just really sad because a lot of them, especially in the homeless community, they’re self-medicating with it because it’s cheap and easy to come by. And there’s just a lot of trauma and a lot of things there that cause them to use, and it’s just really hard to watch.”

And frustrating, too. She said medication to reverse the effects of an overdose, like Narcan for opioids, can’t help with this.

“With spice there’s not a lot you can do except try to keep the person calm if they’re seizing, keep them from hitting their head and reassure them until they come into a better state of consciousness,” Wuebker said.

Their message: no amount is ever safe to use.

“You don’t know what’s in it,” said Galloway, who added he’s seen several people die from the drug’s effects. “It’s Russian roulette, absolutely nobody should be using spice.”