New deadly synthetic cannabis in Auckland

A new kind of deadly synthetic cannabis with violent after-effects has surfaced in Auckland.

The last time a deadly batch reared its head, in July last year, it was blamed for a spate of seven deaths within weeks and sparked an unprecedented joint warning from the chief coroner and police.

About 30 deaths have provisionally been linked to synthetic cannabis nationwide since June 2017, with two deaths in Auckland in recent weeks.

Already this year alone St John staff have responded to about 400 synthetic cannabis-related callouts.

Medical director Dr Tony Smith told the Herald there had been a big spike in the past couple of months in particular, with paramedics dealing with up to 30 incidents per week. They had noticed some different symptoms compared with last year.

Whatever the latest batch was, it was deadly and violent, he said.

“Predominantly last year we were seeing a lot of patients with seizures or convulsions and this year we’re seeing very little of that. So we think something about the mixture of chemicals has changed between last year and this year.

“Most commonly patients become unconscious. They often have very poor breathing. And as they regain consciousness, it’s common for them to appear very confused, agitated and often violent. Between people but also potentially violent towards our own staff.”

He knew of two deaths in just the past few weeks in Auckland.

“[They] can’t yet be proven to be related to synthetic cannabis but they occurred shortly after smoking a substance that was thought to be synthetic cannabis.”

Those deaths were being reviewed by the coroner.

Detective Inspector Scott Beard said police were continuing to target suppliers and had made recent arrests, including at the weekend.

A coroner’s inquest in Taupo yesterday heard evidence relating to the death of 49-year-old synthetic cannabis user Andrew Brian McAllister, who died in August last year.

The inquest heard that synthetic cannabis is 85 times more potent than natural cannabis.

The coroner reserved his decision.