Crazy Clown, a newfound drug, has caused several deaths and sent numerous people to the hospital, after recently being discovered by drug users.
The active chemical in Crazy Clown is still unknown, according to psychologytoday.com.
Suanne Schaad, substance awareness coordinator, said, “It is a synthetic drug with a new compound that researchers are still investigating. It is similar to a marijuana experience.” According to the kpho.com, Crazy Clown “is most commonly smoked or burned in a small bowl and inhaled.”
Forensic scientist, Christine Gabig, along with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), is working to figure out what this drug is made of. Gabig said that Crazy Clown has a sweet smell to it because of an ingredient that is added to the drug. “[It] smells like incense almost,” she said.
Schaad said the drug is packed like innocent looking herbs into little foil packets. Gabig explained that it is sold in local smoke shops and possibly at gas stations, and is sold for $30 to $60 a packet. She said that buyers can even find it sold as incense if they go to certain places.
Schaad said, “Some of the short and long term effects are still being learned but users are reporting: foaming at mouth, nausea, vomiting, weakness, cardiac issues, psychotic episodes, paralysis, increased blood pressure, panic, seizures, and death.”
Dr. Deborah Brunson, staff physician at Milford Physician Services and mother to Raven Brunson, the social media manager at The Outlook, said she has not treated anyone that has taken Crazy Clown yet but believes it has similar symptoms to a type of marijuana called Vietnam Black Thai. She explained that these symptoms included hallucinations, rapid heartbeat and paranoia.
“I’ve never seen this,” said Gabig. “This took me quite a while to research.” She continued by saying that the herbs of the drug are coated in a similar substance “to the molecular structure of other synthetic drugs.” This drug is new though, she said.
Gabig said the chemicals found in Crazy Clown are made to fit into the same receptor of the brain that marijuana would fit loosely into to. She explained the problem is that the chemicals in Crazy Clown fit tightly into the receptor causing much more of a reaction versus marijuana.
Crazy Clown was introduced to the public when eight people, between the ages of 16 and 26, in Georgia were sent to the hospital because of the drug, according to huffingtonpost.com. David Ehsanipoor, Effingham County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, explained that some have been put in intensive care or are on life support.
Gabig said different reports have claimed that 60 kids were hospitalized in Georgia so far and others claim that 100 kids have been hospitalized.
“[Crazy Clown] is legal today in most states,” said Schaad. She said in order for a drug to be illegal, it must have an illegal compound in it. She said, “The CDC is investigating and we should probably expect it to soon be illegal.” She added that Florida had just outlawed the drug in an emergency ruling this past October.
According to ketv.com, Marty Stoltenberg has been a psychiatric nurse practitioner for 18 years and has recently treated a young man after taking Crazy Clown. “He had seizures, a number of seizures. He went unconscious. He quit breathing to the point that he had to be intubated and had renal problems, near renal failure,” said Stoltenberg.
The young man told physicians that he bought Crazy Clown at a tobacco store. Stoltenberg said, “That’s what concerns me, is just the accessibility, and we’re hearing more and more cases of its use.” Before this patient, Stoltenberg had not heard much about the drug. He said the young man being treated “is expected to be OK.”
Schaad said she has not heard a lot about Crazy Clown on campus. However, she did have some people who work in her office check several convenient stores and none of them were selling the drug.
Kelly Ward, professor of social work, has not heard much about the drug. When asked about Crazy Clown, she said, “All drugs are dangerous but when they are man-made they are usually more dangerous, unstable, and side effects are uncertain.”
PHOTO TAKEN from NYDailyNews.com
