State Epidemiologist Dr. Thomas Dobbs said seven people have possibly died from using the chemical substance also called Mojo or K2.
As of Friday 317 people in 37 counties have been admitted to emergency rooms and hospitals after smoking spice.
"Some of the deaths that we've seen seem to be like heart attacks,
said Dobbs. "Certainly we know that people have had seizures and sometimes bad seizures can lead to death although we don't know that that's confirmed."
What is confirmed is an outbreak of spice related illnesses since April 2nd.
The first or even next hit of spice or the synthetic chemicals sprayed on herbs could be deadly.
"This is not synthetic marijuana," added Dobbs. "Marijuana has been around a long time. I know some people are comfortable with it, but this is a chemical that's treated, that's totally different than marijuana that has a lot of these crazy side effects."
Doctors are treating patients ranging in age from 14 to the 50's.
"You never know what you're getting and these are chemicals that have never been used in humans before," said Dobbs. "So what's gonna happen to somebody is unpredictable."
Meanwhile MBN Public Relations Director Delores Lewis tells us that the agency is working with federal prosecutors to further proceed with the case against 31 year old Lester Singleton and 32 year old Latoya Emmons.
Both were charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute when a south Jackson apartment was raided for spice on April 10th.
Dr. Dobbs added that clinical specimens have been sent to a California lab for toxicological testing that could determine if the outbreak is attributed to just one drug and what that chemical is.
Those results are expected to be coming back on an ongoing basis over the next week or so.
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