A student had to go to the emergency room after smoking drugs.

On the afternoon of May 16, THL (15 years old, 9th grade student at a middle school in Binh Tan district, Ho Chi Minh City) was taken to the City Children's Hospital for emergency treatment by local residents. According to the student, he had previously bought a green substance, introduced as marijuana, from an acquaintance at a park near the school for 20,000 VND. At around 1:30 p.m. on May 16, he and his friends were drinking at a coffee shop in Binh Hung Hoa ward, Binh Tan district, when they took out the marijuana to smoke. After smoking for about 10 minutes, he felt his heart beating fast, his body numb, had hallucinations, dizziness, and continuous vomiting. Seeing the student's condition getting worse, the people around him called an ambulance to take him to the City Children's Hospital.

Doctor Nguyen Minh Tien, Deputy Director of the City Children's Hospital, said that upon admission, the patient began to gradually regain consciousness, had good contact, had reflexes, reduced vomiting, and reduced headache. Doctors administered intravenous fluids to increase excretion and closely monitored the function of the organs. After 2 days, the patient gradually regained consciousness, and the urine test for marijuana was negative. Doctors examined and provided additional psychological intervention for the patient and his family.

According to Dr. Nguyen Minh Tien, American weed is a synthetic drug, not of natural origin, not marijuana. The main active ingredient in American weed is XLR-11, when used it will cause strong hallucinations, psychosis, dilated pupils, agitation, stress, and can have extreme thoughts that are harmful to oneself and others. The ability to cause addiction and harm the nervous system, causing psychosis (hallucinations, paranoia) of American weed is higher than marijuana. Because it is a floating product, American weed can be soaked with some addictive substances or some chemicals that can cause side effects such as headaches, diarrhea, fatigue, liver and kidney damage, etc.

It can take up to a month for the toxins to be completely eliminated from the body. In cases of prolonged hallucinations, patients should visit specialized psychiatric and neurological hospitals for further evaluation and timely treatment.

Decree 73/2018/ND-CP of the Government, effective from May 15, 2018, includes American weed in the list of drugs that are absolutely prohibited from use, storage, purchase, sale, and transportation in medicine and social life. If after exposure, the patient only feels uncomfortable, has a slight headache, they should rest and not use this toxic chemical anymore, Dr. Nguyen Minh Tien recommends.

According to VNA