SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- AMR ambulance crews have responded to at least 50 overdoses in the city involving the drug "spike" since Saturday, according to an official with the ambulance company.

Nick Corbishley, an AMR supervisor, said the overdoses have occurred downtown and on the Near West Side and South Side.

Ambulance crews don't know where the people overdosing are getting the drug.

"All we know is it's easy to get," he said.

Spike, also often referred to as "Spice" or synthetic marijuana, is a mixture of herbs and spices sprayed with chemicals with similarities to THC, the mind-altering ingredient found in marijuana. The chemical makeup of the drug varies from brand to brand.

The drug is extremely dangerous and potentially deadly, according to the Upstate New York Poison Center.

Some of the people overdosing are relaxed, while others are so aggressive they have to be physically restrained or given sedatives, Corbishley said.

He said the rash of overdoses seems to be slowing down. As of 9 a.m. today AMR had responded to two overdoses. By 9 a.m. Wednesday it had already handled 10 cases.

Crouse Hospital's emergency room has seen 19 spike overdoses since Tuesday, seven of them since 3 a.m. today, according to Bob Allen, a Crouse vice president.

Upstate University Hospital's ER has been seeing five to 10 cases a day, said Kathleen Paice Froio, a hospital spokeswoman.

The Onondaga County Health Department has not responded to requests for information about the overdose outbreak.

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