The Drug-Induced Respiratory Disease Website

Cannabinoids - Cannabinoid receptor agonists (synthetic) (K2, Spice)

Respiratory failure from ventilatory depression (of neuromuscular cause or causes)

Presentation may range from restrictive lung dysfunction to acute respiratory failure with an increased PaCO2 and respiratory acidosis and blunted ventilatory reponse to hypoxia and/or hypercarbia. Aspiration, brain damage and death can occur (See PMID 25536092). See also under IXi, IXIe, IXa, IXj, IXs.

Publications

Manini AF, Krotulski AJ, Schimmel J, Allen L, Hurd YL, Richardson LD, Vidal K, Logan BK

Respiratory failure in confirmed synthetic cannabinoid overdose.

Clinical toxicology (Philadelphia, Pa.) 2021 Sep 09;;1-3 — 2021 Sep 09 — 1-3

Alon MH, Saint-Fleur MO

Synthetic cannabinoid induced acute respiratory depression: Case series and literature review.

Respiratory medicine case reports 2017;22;137-141 — 2017 — 137-141

Hill SL, Najafi J, Dunn M, Acheampong P, Kamour A, Grundlingh J, Blain PG, Thomas SH

Clinical toxicity following analytically confirmed use of the synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist MDMB-CHMICA. A report from the Identification Of Novel psychoActive substances (IONA) study.

Clinical toxicology (Philadelphia, Pa.) 2016 Sep;54;638-43 — 2016 Sep — 638-43

Jinwala FN, Gupta M

Synthetic cannabis and respiratory depression.

Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology 2012 Dec;22;459-62 — 2012 Dec — 459-62

Diagnosing DIRD