34-year-old Wichita man dies after reportedly smoking synthetic marijuana

Michael Stavola
·1 min read
2

A 34-year-old Wichita man died Wednesday morning in north Wichita after reportedly smoking synthetic marijuana commonly called K2 or spice.

The actual cause of death is pending an autopsy by the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center.

Police were called at 11:13 a.m. to the 1900 block of North Erie, which is near 17th and Hillside, after a 43-year-old Wichita man reported the victim “smoking K2 and then falling unconscious on to the floor,” an officer wrote in a police report.

The person was pronounced deceased by EMS at 11:51 a.m.

Neither the victim or person who reported the death lived at the home, Lt. Aaron Moses said.

“This case will be reviewed by our investigators to determine if any criminal charges would be appropriate,” Moses said. “The case may be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office for charging later.”

K2, which is also called spice, is a synthetic marijuana derived from man-made chemicals. It’s illegal in Kansas.

It has led to deaths in Wichita and across the country. In 2020, inmates in the Sedgwick County Jail started vomiting, passing out and having drug-induced psychosis after smoking paper laced with the drug.