Milton teens who experienced seizures consumed a synthetic cannabinoid; not cannabis: police

A Halton Police crest is seen here in this file photo.

Two Milton teens who experienced seizures after smoking a substance that was initially reported as cannabis had actually consumed an illegal and unregulated chemical product that mimics the effects of cannabis, police say.

The teens, ages 16 and 18, were administered Naloxone after officers responding to a 911 call on May 15 found them unconscious on the deck of a Milton home suffering from a suspected overdose.

At the time, police said that they were “seriously investigating” the possibility that the cannabis that the males were believed to be smoking could have come into contact with an opioid or had been “intentionally boosted with another product for nefarious reasons.”

In a news release issued on Wednesday, police said that the two teens have since reported that the substance they believed they were consuming was salvia.

Police, however, say that testing performed at a Health Canada lab has determined that it was a synthetic cannabinoid.

“Products that contain synthetic cannabinoids, such as Spice and K2 are often smoked for the cannabis-like effect but are dangerous because there is no quality control in the preparation and packaging process,” police said in the release. “The contents of most synthetic cannabinoids are unknown, untested and can change from product to product. Synthetic cannabinoids are illegal in Canada, and unregulated.”

Police say that the two teens have both made a full recovery after being rushed to hospital last month.

They say that the results of the testing performed by Health Canada have been shared with the Region of Halton Health Department.