WASHINGTON – Screening for synthetic drugs will become more frequent in D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser announced at a news conference Thursday.
Paramedics, police and hospital staff can provide plenty of anecdotal evidence about the rise of synthetic drugs in D.C. Some people under the influence of synthetic drugs appear almost like zombies. Others stand in the middle of the street, catatonic.
But thus far, leaders have had limitations quantifying the extent of the problem.
“We identified, some weeks ago, the problem with testing for synthetic drugs,” says Mayor Muriel Bowser. The drugs, known as K-2 and Spice, among others, are not detected in standard screenings.
But at a news conference Thursday, Bowser announced that Pretrial Services now has the capability to test for such drugs.
Last month, D.C. hospitals began collecting urine samples of patients who appeared to be on synthetic drugs. The new policy recommends taking blood samples, too. No information on the results of those samples is available thus far.
