Tainted synthetic pot eyed as cause of another Illinois death

As a Chicago convenience store owner accused of selling tainted synthetic pot was ordered to be held without bond Friday, authorities were investigating the possibility that a third death could be tied to an outbreak that has now sickened nearly 100 people in Illinois and continues to worsen.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office reported Friday that rat poison – an ingredient that has recently been identified in several instances of tainted synthetic marijuana that have turned up in central and northern Illinois – was found in the body of a 22-year-old man Chicago who died last month.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office did not release specific details of the Chicago man’s demise on March 28. But Oak Lawn police said Friday that they investigated the death that occurred on the same day of a 22-year-old Chicago man who, according to his family, recently had been smoking synthetic marijuana. The man was found at a hotel on Cicero Avenue in Oak Lawn, according to a police news release.

An autopsy revealed brodifacoum in the man’s system and showed excessive internal bleeding, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

Brodifacoum is a rat poison. Health officials warned that poisoning by the ingredient causes severe bleeding that can be fatal or lead to symptoms that last for months, including unexplained bruising, bleeding in the brain and vomiting blood. Recent patient reports of severe bleeding led health officials to warn the public not to use any synthetic cannabinoid products.

– Appeal-democrat news services