Are potential harms of "synthetic marijuana" another good argument for legalizing real pot?

The question in the title of this post was my first reaction to this new CNN story headlined "Teen narrowly escapes death after smoking synthetic marijuana." Here are the excerpts from the very lengthy piece which lead me, quite sincerely, to wonder how the significant potential harms of spice and other forms of fake pot ought to inform the on-going national debates about marijuana law reforms:

Hospital staff removed Emily Bauer's breathing tube and stopped all medication and nourishment at 1:15 p.m. December 16. Only morphine flowed into her body, as the family waited by her side in her final moments.

But the next morning, she was still alive.... Emily was back.

Her family said the drug that landed the Cypress, Texas, teenager, then 16, in the ICU two weeks earlier wasn't bought from a dealer or offered to her at a party. It was a form of synthetic weed packaged as "potpourri" that she and friends bought at a gas station.

At first, her stepfather, Tommy Bryant, said he was "fixing to whip somebody's ass," as he thought someone older than 18 bought it for her. Bryant already knew she used real marijuana occasionally. "It's not that I condoned it," he said, adding that he couldn't follow her around all day. Bryant enforces a strict no-smoking rule in the house, and said that if he ever caught Emily smoking, she'd be grounded.

"Had I thought that there was any chance that she could have been hurt by this stuff, I would have been a lot more vigilant. I had no idea it was so bad," Bryant said. "I'd never have thought we'd be in this situation. If she had bought it off the street or from a corner, that's one thing, but she bought it from convenience store."

Best known by the street names "Spice" or "K2," fake weed is an herbal mixture sprayed with chemicals that's meant to create a high similar to smoking marijuana, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Advertised as a "legal" alternative to weed, it's often sold as incense or potpourri and in most states, it's anything but legal.

Synthetic marijuana was linked to 11,406 drug-related emergency department visits in 2010, according to a first-of-its-kind report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This is when it first started showing up on health providers' radar, as the Drug Abuse Warning Nework detected a measurable number of emergency visits.

Who wound up in the emergency room the most? Children ages 12 to 17. The first state laws banning synthetic drugs popped up in 2010. Now at least 41 states -- including Texas, where Emily lives -- and Puerto Rico have banned them, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Older legislation targeted specific versions of the drug, but the makers of Spice were a step ahead. "These drug manufacturers slightly change the chemical compound, and it becomes a different substance that's not covered by the law," said NCSL policy specialist Alison Lawrence. "That's why in 2011 and 2012, we saw the states enacting these broader language bans."...

Emily, a straight-A and B sophomore, developed persistent migraines about two weeks before she wound up in the ICU early on December 8, said Bryant. One bad migraine even sent her to the ER.... While her family doesn't know how long she'd been using the drug, her stepfather suspected she started around two weeks before the night that sent her to the hospital.

Common side effects to smoking synthetic marijuana include bloodshot eyes, disturbed perceptions and a change in mood, said Dr. Melinda Campopiano, a medical officer with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. "People can become very agitated or can be come unresponsive -- conscious but not reacting normal to situations," she said. They may also appear paranoid or describe hallucinations. Some of the more potentially serious effects include an elevated heart rate and elevated blood pressure.

Campopiano said she had never heard of a patient having a stroke in these circumstances, but she described how high blood pressure could lead to one. "Generally, strokes are caused by restricted circulation, or a blood clot that blocks circulation. What we would be looking at with Spice, or K2, is the restrictive circulation model," she said....

Emily complained of a migraine and took a nap at her house after allegedly smoking Spice with friends on December 7, said Bryant. She woke up a different person. Stumbling and slurring her words, she morphed into a psychotic state of hallucinations and violent outbursts, her family said.

They called 911 after they realized she had "done something," some drug, said her stepfather. The Harris County Sheriff's Office confirmed they visited the house but declined to provide details. When paramedics arrived, they restrained her and rushed her to a Houston-area hospital, where she was admitted to the ICU....

She bit guardrails and attempted to bite those trying to help her. Hospital staff strapped Emily down in the bed, said her sister. "We thought once she comes down off the drug, we'd take her home and show her the dangers of this drug," said the 22-year-old. "We didn't think it was as big of a deal until 24 hours later she was still violent and hurting herself. We realized you're not supposed to stay high this long."

To keep Emily safe, doctors put her in an induced coma. After days in the sedated state, an MRI revealed she had suffered several severe strokes, said Bryant. "In four days' time, we went from thinking everything is going to be OK and we'll put her in drug rehabilitation to now you don't know if she's going to make it," he said....

Knowing how different people will react to fake weed is impossible. There are a few reasons that explain why. "You're hearing some pretty bad things with the synthetic cannabinoids -- part of that has to do with the potency. It can be 100 times more potent than marijuana," said U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman Barbara Carreno....

Carreno explained there's no consistency or quality control from one time to the next. The people making these products can be anyone from a college kid wanting to make extra cash to an operation blending large quantities in a cement mixer, she said. Two batches made by the same person could have different doses....

One in every nine high school seniors admits to having used fake weed in 2011, according to a national survey by the University of Michigan. Synthetic marijuana is the second-most popular illicit drug they use, behind marijuana.

In July 2012, President Barack Obama signed legislation banning five common chemicals used to make synthetic marijuana and bath salts. And that same month, the DEA seized almost 5 million packets of fake weed in its first national sweep of the drug....

Bryant and his family are starting a nonprofit organization called Synthetic Awareness For Emily. Their goal with SAFE is to educate families, as well as teachers and doctors, about the dangers and warning signs of synthetic marijuana use. Bryant said he has filed the paper work and is waiting to hear from the federal government on reviewing their nonprofit application.

"That's why we want to let kids and parents know about the warnings signs: migraines and withdrawal," he said. "We all know the warning signs of alcohol and cocaine, but with this synthetic weed stuff, it's so new that nobody knows about this stuff. We want to let other parents know about this so they don't have to go what we've been going through."