Pattern of Acute Synthetic Cannabinoids Toxicity in Patients Presented to the Poison Control Center of Ain Shams University Hospitals

Abstract

ynthetic cannabinoids (SCs) are a heterogeneous group of compounds developed as research tools to explore the endocannabinoid system and as potential therapeutics. They were created to study the potential medical benefits of marijuana as endocannabinoids are important in immunomodulation, regulation of appetite, addiction, analgesia, and inflammatory regulation. Synthetic cannabinoids are very attractive to abusers as they induce euphoric effects of traditional cannabis rapidly and their effects remain for short period; so they are suitable for active lives especially with failure of standard urine screening tests in detecting them. They have side effects that are usually more severe than those of marijuana. In addition to the expected CNS effects, tachycardia, seizures, cognitive impairment, kidney damage, and death have been reported, so it is essential to understand their adverse-effect risk profile.