Barbados Concerned About the Presence of Deadly Synthetic Cannabinoids

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Barbadians are being warned to be on alert for deadly synthetic cannabinoids (SCs)  that have been discovered on the island.

Synthetic cannabinoids are substances made in laboratories that mimic the biological effects of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Director of the Forensics Sciences Centre (FSC), Cheryl Corbin, said that on August 3, the FSC received an unknown substance in the form of “plant material that was cut up” from the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) for testing and analysis.

She said that the sample tested positive for two types of SCs – MDMB 4en Pinaca and 4-Fluoro MDMB Butica – listed as new psychotropic substances (NPS) encountered by law enforcement.

“The information was relayed to NCSA, and our recommendation was that the FSC remains on high alert for any further submissions or queries of these NPSs and also that we share the information with the members of the EWS (Early Warning System), which was done. It prompted this situation that we’re in now for the issuance of the alert,” the Director reported.

She said that SCs are substances synthesized in laboratories that mimic the biological effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana or cannabis.

“The problem with this new psychoactive substance is that it is excessively potent. You have no idea of knowing how much you’re using…and one use of it can kill you. Seriously, it can kill you. We know how adventurous some people are, but I reiterate, it can kill you,” she warned.

Corbin noted that odorless MDMB-4en-PINACA and 4F-MDMB-BUTICA substances are synthetic cannabinoids that have been encountered on the designer drug market and have been found laced on plant material and marketed under the guise of herbal incense products including oils used for Electronic Smoking Devices (vaping).

“The SCs have no accepted medicinal use at all…. They are purely only smoked for their psychoactive effects…. Emergency departments have been presented with symptoms from persons, which include seizures, sudden collapse, involuntary muscle spasms, catatonia and increased violence. Multiple deaths have been reported in various places.”

Home Affairs Minister, Wilfred Abrahams,  said the discovery of the highly dangerous substance is cause for concern for all people since they may purchase and use it believing it is actually marijuana.

“I can tell you don’t go and buy weed. Weed is illegal in Barbados at this point in time, but we all know and we in the NCSA (National Council on Substance Abuse) know, and the police know people are going to buy it. People who are accustomed to smoking weed are going to buy weed,” Abrahams said.

“So we have to be real now and say, in addition to that, be careful of what you are buying. Know what you are putting into your body. It may not be what you expect, and it may not just make you high; it may kill you the first time you use it. I do not think that I can be any more direct than that.”

He said the substance has “no marijuana characteristics” and that “somebody can spray this onto thyme, they can spray it onto incense, they could spray it on to tobacco, they can spray in onto fanta, and you will burn these things [not knowing] what it is that you are actually doing to yourself or the people that are ingesting this smoke.

“This is as real as it gets. If you smoke that near me who does not know what it is, the impact on me is just as bad as the impact on you. So innocent third parties and bystanders can be impacted by the decision to use these things, or in some instances, using these things in ignorance of what they truly are. We have pushed this out to the point of an alert as fast as possible because the public needs to know what is out there,” he added.

Confirmation of the presence of synthetic cannabinoids in Barbados comes on the heels of several videos circulating on social media recently, showing people behaving strangely after using a substance.

“I think everybody in here saw the videos that were circulating, and persons were laughing and they thought, ‘look how this person getting high from one joint’. Somebody had three pulls and started to spasm; they could not stand up, and they urinated on themselves. It was circulated and went viral, and people considered it a joke that somebody had an excessive response to marijuana,” Abrahams noted.

“This is not a joke. And because people are unknowingly taking this drug, believing it to be marijuana, they take it in the same way that they would take marijuana without knowing the content or the quantity of what it is they are actually ingesting.”

The Home Affairs Minister noted that in August 2020, three months after being identified in one country, there were 11 deaths associated with the use of the substances.

“I want to underscore that these synthetic cannabinoids have no accepted medical use in treatment. In fact, these products are usually labelled as ‘not for human consumption’. In addition, there is a real danger to persons using this substance as this presents further challenges for the appropriate medical intervention.

“The symptoms resulting from use can not only lead to serious health problems but can possibly bring individuals into contact with the law, in cases of increased violence where you might injure someone else,” Abrahams said.