ATLANTA,None — A teenage boy is on a ventilator after his parents said he smoked a synthetic form of marijuana. The drug, known as K-2, was banned in Georgia after a Channel 2 Action News investigation exposed the risks of the drug but its slowly spreading to other parts of the country.
Ray and Tonya Rice's 13-year-old son Brandon was a healthy soon-to-be eighth-grader in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Rices said in mid-June he was having trouble breathing and said he thought he was having a heart attack.
"He was telling me that he couldn't feel his hands and his legs," said Ray Rice. "He said he couldn't breathe. He was vomiting and had a high fever."
His parents said following his sudden illness he ended up in intensive care at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh with two collapsed lungs.
"They [the doctors] showed us pictures of his lung inside. You can see the big burn on his lung," said Tonya Rice.
The Rices said doctors performed numerous tests and couldn't figure out what caused the burns.
"They asked if he had done any kind of huffing, marijuana, sniffing or whatever. He admitted he had smoked marijuana," said Ray Rice.
Brandon's parents said they searched his room and found a synthetic marijuana called Spice. According to police, the substance goes by many names but is most popularly known as K-2. The substance is sold over the counter in tobacco shops, gas stations and convenience stores, according to police, and is labeled as potpourri or incense.
The Georgia Poison Center told Channel 2's Diana Davis that even though the drug is illegal in Georgia, there are still reports of its use. The drug is also widely available on the Internet.
"We are seeing everything from hearts beating to fast to perhaps tremor and seizure activity," said Dr. Gaylord Lopez.
Narcotics agents said the substance has been linked to deaths across the country and it's just starting to spread into the Northeast.
The Rices said their son smoked the substance out of a Pez dispenser.
"You can smell the chemical in it but it's a potpourri that these kids are smoking. It's crazy. I'm sure the Spice had a lot to do with it, but he also inhaled a lot of plastic," Ray Rice said.
Doctors have sedated Brandon and his parents said they have not heard him speak since June 16. His parents said they're hoping for a miracle and that he heals enough so he may be able to qualify for a lung transplant.
The Rices said they also hope other parents hear their story and share it with their children.
"I don't want any parent to go through what we are going through or what he is going through," said Tonya Rice.