Andy Bales says he's never seen anything like it. 14 people taken down by Spice! That's a drug, he says, has plagued Skid Row, for a while, but now it's gotten worse.
Rev. Bales is the CEO of Union Rescue Mission in Downtown LA. He's worked there 16 years. Says Bales, "
"We have never had 14 people rushed to the hospital in a short span like we have this weekend."
Seven people were taken to the hospital Friday, three more Saturday, and four more Sunday. Friday night, a Los Angeles Police Department Officer fell dizzy to the aroma of the synthetic Marijuana substitute that Bales says smells like a mix of marijuana, plastic, and rubber.
Bales says it seems the new Spice on Skid Row's streets is cut with some other ingredient, but he doesn't know what. "It seems lately that there's been an extra ingredient added to the mix of potpourri and bath salts and whatever they put in them. And, they're rolling the joints in such a way with an ingredient that's caused 14 overdoses in the last three days."
Bales hopes police can figure out who is putting the bad drug on the streets before more people are hurt. What makes it enticing, according to Bales, is the cost. One dollar per joint.
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