• Mathias B Forrester and Tracy Haywood.
• Environmental Epidemiology and Disease Registries Section, Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, TX 78756, USA. mathias.forrester@dshs.state.tx.us
• Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2012 Nov 1;38(6):603-8.

BackgroundSynthetic cannabinoids have recently gained popularity as recreational drugs because they provide a marijuana-like high and cannot be detected in typical urine drug screens. However, the use of synthetic cannabinoids may result in a variety of adverse effects.ObjectivesThe intent of this investigation was to determine whether synthetic cannabinoid exposures in Texas demonstrated any geographic variation.MethodsA total of 1037 synthetic cannabinoid exposures reported to Texas poison centers during 2010-2011 were identified and the county and Texas Public Health Region (PHR) where the call originated from ascertained. The distribution of exposures by county and PHR was determined.ResultsSynthetic cannabinoid exposures were reported in 124 of the 254 Texas counties (mean exposures per county 4.1, range 0-179). The exposure rate among the 11 PHRs varied from 2.79 to 7.14 per 100,000 population. The rate was 4.02 in urban counties and 4.90 in rural counties.ConclusionSynthetic cannabinoid exposures reported to Texas poison centers varied by geographic region. The rate tended to be higher in rural counties.Scientific SignificanceSuch information may be useful when attempting to target education and prevention activities.

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