The "All Aspects of Bonsai Symposium", which lasted all day on 21 August 2014 and was held in the conference hall of Bakırköy Psychiatric and Neurological Diseases Hospital, provided us with access to rich and up-to-date information about bonsai. Sociopolitical strategies on the subject of bonzai were discussed in 4 separate panels by experts on the subject (Ministry of Health, TUBİM, Green Crescent, Police Department Narcotics Branch, Forensic Medicine Institution officials, Forensic Medicine, Cardiology, Emergency Medicine, Psychiatry faculty members and psychiatry experts at AMATEM-ÇEMATEM). They were evaluated for narcotics, clinical emergencies and addiction. While sharing with you the information I recorded in my notebook from the symposium about bonsai, which has been tried to be controlled by legal regulations since 2011 and has become very dangerous in recent years as well as popular, I congratulate and thank all the experts who organized this symposium and informed us.
* Bonzai, the prototype of synthetic cannabinoid-derived drugs, is not an "imitation of marijuana" as our young people so innocently say, but a substance prepared for presentation by spraying many toxic chemicals on plants and acts like heroin, which can cause fatal consequences.
* Plants used: sage, catnip, damiana tea, salvia divinarium plant. Plants are used both in preparation and to provide a false innocence (herbal product).
* At first, they were offered for sale as bath salt, plant fertilizer, deodorizer, incense, and pool cleaner.
* It has many street names such as Bonzai, K2, Jamaica, Rüya, Bombay blue, Boncuk, Spice.
* It was discovered as a product of innocent drug research in 1994, became functional in 2000, and became an innocent herbal medicine in 2004. It is a substance that was first sold for malicious purposes as if it were a product, and was banned in Europe in 2009 and in our country in 2011.
* It is consumed in the second place after marijuana in school studies in the USA, and in patients benefiting from probation in our country. It is a substance that was found to be used more than marijuana with 14.9% after routine urine analysis in the last 2 months.
* Before Bonzai, there was 99.3% marijuana use (no drug is innocent, one should not say "what the hell, isn't it a weed?"). !!)
* Usually found in young people, cannabis users and (before prohibition) ) the risk of using new substances/herbal product users (advertised products of Chinese origin) is high.
* 91% of young people become acquainted with bonzai through their friends (“my child shouldn't drink, let his friends do whatever they do” approach It is wrong, we need to have the sensitivity to see all children in our society as our own children!!!).
* The use of other drugs is also common.
* The most affected age group is adolescents: In 2013, the starting age decreased to 13.75.
* Negative consequences in adolescents: decrease in course success, dropping out of school, conflict with family, changing the circle of friends, behavioral disorders, lack of training that should be provided during adolescence (empathy). , human relations, socialization, etc.), self-harm, bonzai psychosis, suicide (increasing by 20-30 times), tendency to violence (increasing by 12-16 times), increase in infectious diseases (hepatitis, etc.).
* Drug use rates in terms of narcotics have increased over the years, according to 2013 data, synthetic cannabinoids were seized in 70 provinces (they became widespread when the number of provinces was much less in the past years) and the number of caught cases increased 2.28 times compared to 2012. Although Turkey ranks first in the world in drug seizure, drug use is not decreasing in our country.
* Accessibility is easy and the cost is very low, the average price per gram is 50 TL, and the cost of single-drink sales as "cigarettes" is 3-7 TL. This causes the consumption age to decrease and to be sold in front of schools.
* 1 kg. 200,000 packages of bonsai can be produced from the raw material, the profit margin is very high.
* There is a lot of online sales, even if there are limits on the relevant sites, many new ones are opened immediately.
* Substance use always renews itself. There are more than 300 drugs. There are 105 different types of synthetic cannabinoids. For this reason, it is difficult to impose legal restrictions, legal prohibitions can be circumvented with a new form.
* There is a principle of "today's user, tomorrow's seller" and as the age of use decreases, the age of the sellers also decreases.
* According to 2013 data. According to the data, 232 people had direct drug-related deaths (2 times more than last year).
* 10-19 age range. There is an increase in drug-related deaths compared to previous years.
* Indirect drug-related deaths (accidents, suicide, murder, injury, etc.) increased 3-fold in 2013 compared to the previous year.
* Bonzai is more lethal because it is a multiple mixture (sellers mix many substances to reduce costs and there is no standard measure or rule in this mixing process).
* Disorders that occur when using Bonzai:
– cardiovascular system disorders: hypertension, tachycardia, chest pain, arrhythmia, heart attack, sudden death
– Hyperglycemia, acidosis
– Renal failure
– Epileptic attack (epilepsy)
– Balance disorder
– Psychiatric disorders: delirium, hallucination, agitation, anxiety, depression, confusion, psychosis attacks
* Bonzai addiction is a serious public health problem and affects the young population. Tolerance develops rapidly (risk of addiction is high).
* Can it be said that it is a "biological weapon" because it is easy to apply, highly accessible, cheap and has a high effect? (as dangerous as a biological weapon!)
* What to do?
– Things to do in prevention:
1- Education of young people: family relations, school and night life, social media interactions
2- Control of herbal products
3- Use of new tests (detection, screening)
4- Prevention of advertising (especially on the internet)
5- Legal regulations
6- Social services
7- Media support
8- Psychological supports
– Acute Period and maintenance treatment are important. Symptomatic and supportive treatments are at the forefront. Meanwhile, it is necessary to be careful not to cause violence against healthcare personnel.
* A multidisciplinary (internal medicine, cardiology, neurology, psychiatry, etc.) approach is required.
– Community-based struggle centers are important: access to treatment. , continuity in treatment, cooperation and communication of local forces, and combating environmental factors are necessary.
– In Turkey, there are 26 AMATEMs (alcohol and substance addiction research, treatment and training centers) and 3 ÇEMATEMs (for children and adolescents). existing, their numbers need to be increased.
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