18 hospitalized after becoming ill on skid row
Authorities said 18 people in downtown’s skid row became ill Friday morning and were rushed to hospitals, raising the possibility of another drug poisoning event.
Authorities said 18 people in downtown’s skid row became ill Friday morning and were rushed to hospitals.
It is not yet known what caused the victims to become sick, said Brian Humphrey, spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. The conditions of the victims have not been released, though no one has died, he said.
“We surmise they may have had contact with a substance, but we’re not certain,” Humphrey said.
The first person became ill around 10 a.m. Friday and the area around 5th and Wall streets was cordoned off early afternoon as paramedics fanned out to look for others who might have become sick, Humphrey said.
In April, 15 people in skid row were hospitalized after consuming a tainted form of synthetic marijuana known as Spice. Los Angeles police officials said most victims simply collapsed on sidewalks, though none died.
Homeless advocates, shelter operators and police officers said the April episode was similar to previous incidents in which paramedics arrived at homeless encampments to find poisoned Spice users.
Tainted batches of synthetic cannabinoids have popped up in recent years in numerous locales, including New York and San Diego. Spice is made by spraying psychoactive chemicals onto plant matter, which is then smoked or eaten.
Side effects include rapid heartbeat, nausea and sometimes seizures.
Last year, New York’s mayor signed a law banning the sale and manufacture of synthetic cannabinoid products like Spice and K2 and stimulants such as “bath salts.”
A crackdown by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Department of Homeland Security last year led to the arrest of 16 people in Los Angeles who were accused of distributing thousands of pounds of synthetic marijuana.
The DEA has identified 400 new designer drugs, mostly with origins in rogue labs in China. In the Los Angeles arrests, the dealers distributed their smokable products under such names as “Sexy Monkey,” “Crazy Monkey,” “Mad Hatter” and “Scooby Snax.”
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