New cannabis drug hits Illinois streets

New cannabis drug hits Illinois streets

It looks like toffee or peanut brittle, but parents be warned that this new marijuana drug is no sweet treat.

Shatter, also known as wax, sap, butter, butane oil and a number of other nicknames, has recently made its way to the Chicagoland area. This highly potent marijuana product, considered the purest and most powerful weed, is extremely dangerous.

Police in Illinois are warning the public about its potential dangers.

“Shatter is extremely poisonous and destructive to the nerve tissue,” Illinois State Police officials said in a statement. “The drug contains high levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which can cause users to disconnect from reality leading to hallucinations and other types of psychosis.”

The cannabis product resembles clear, thin sheets of dried honey or tree sap, and is made by an extraction process that removes any lipids or fats. Users usually melt the product and inhale the smoke to get high. The product typically contains 80 to 90 percent THC – making it six times stronger than the average marijuana cigarette.

Police haven’t seen the drug before August, when it was discovered during a routine traffic stop in Grundy County. At that moment, police confiscated over 100 pounds of Shatter and arrested three people for possession.

Dr. Adam Rubinstein, internal medicine and addiction medicine physician at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Liberytville, Ill., sees the potential harm the drug can have on someone’s body.

“Shatter can contain chemicals very toxic to the brain and nervous system,” says Dr. Rubinstein. “Users may be more likely to experience hallucinations, delusions, psychotic breaks, seizures and serious medical events that could have long lasting and life-changing consequences.”

Dr. Rubinstein stresses that parents aware of the affects the drugs could have on themselves and people around them.

“One exposure could lead to hallucinations or seizures that could cause an auto accident, or lead the kid to commit serious harm to themselves or another person,” he says, adding that parents should talk to their children about illicit drugs and addictions at a very early age. “Once a child understands ‘dangerous’ and ‘addiction,’ it’s a good time to begin the conversations.”

Illinois State Police also warned that shatter is becoming more available in this area popular among kids and young adults. Parents should be on the lookout.

Photo credit: International Business Times

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Comments

10 Comments

  1. new drug

  2. First, not a new drug. Its the same drug as it has always been. Second, if you overdoes on THC, you FALL ASLEEP! YOU DO NOT DIE! Third, sounds like some hillbilly added sugar and baked a tray of THC laced butter for an hour. While its not very original, children are quite dumb. This is not some “new scary my children are going to die drug”….its pot, strong pot, the same strong pot foodies people eat in Europe. I understand police have their jobs to do, but everyone should set back, breath, and calm down.

  3. It’s marijuana. Nothing new here. It is estimated that marijuana’s [median lethal dose] is around 1:20,000 or 1:40,000. In layman terms this means that in order to induce death a marijuana smoker would have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times as much marijuana as is contained in one marijuana cigarette. [National Institute on Drug Abuse]-supplied marijuana cigarettes weigh approximately .9 grams. A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response.

    Shamefully, law enforcement agencies including the police are desperate to keep drugs illegal for the specific goal of capitalizing on money and property seizures. Let’s legalize marijuana, and treat it like alcohol to help reduce it’s availability to kids.

  4. This is also the same “drug” that is legal in other countries, not to mention other STATES here in the good ol’ US of A… medicinally AND recreationally. Way to spread the “reefer madness”… We as a society are past this. Alcohol is FAR more dangerous. How about we not freak out and teach our children moderation and safety when consuming recreational “drugs” such as marijuana, alcohol, and Rx medications. Just a thought.

  5. This article sounds like propaganda! Shatter is not a new drug and is not deadly. Unless kids are trying to cook up their own batches of shatter, it should not contain any toxic chemicals. Here’s a good comparison, a regular joint is like a beer and shatter is like taking a shot of vodka, it’s stronger. Be responsible and educate yourself, don’t always believe what you read and do your own researcher. Alcohol is socially accepted, yet it kills over thousands and thousands a people per year….maybe we should put our focus on other more easily accessible intoxicants!

  6. It’s a joke !!! Legalize it and let it be !! Haven’t heard of anyone of overdosing on pot but on alcohol… I should have !!!

  7. This article is riddled with lies. I’m disgusted at this attempt to discredit use of cannaboids to get unknowing readers attention.

  8. Ok so it is obvious none of you have ever smoked this. It is the same high as weed but even as it says in the article it is 6x stronger. It is made of Marijuana mixed with other chemicals. I know there are some people that make it with butane. Smoking chemicals like butane can’t be good for you.

  9. wow..the people commenting have more intelligence than the law enforcement responsible for the arrest or the folks in charge at healthy news. very well put

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health enews Staff
health enews Staff

health enews staff is a group of experienced writers from our Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care sites, which also includes freelance or intern writers.