Like ‘The Walking Dead:’ Florida Struck by Rampant Spice Overdose

Clearwater in Florida faces a unique problem and the investigators have received multiple calls including people who reportedly collapsed in such a state that they could barely move or talk, especially on routine patrols of Crest Lake Park. According to the investigators, this case of overdosing is a result of a drug called "spice," a bad batch of synthetic weed.

"We called the police because there was a guy screaming so gutturally I though he was going to pop a blood vessel," said Janet Gruhala, a resident of Clearwater who walks her dog in Crest Lake Park.

This is not the first time that the police have received calls about people so drugged that they had to be admitted to their local hospitals for treatment of spice overdose. The investigators believe that Clearwater epidemic may be somehow linked to the recent Tampa cases. Spice manufacturers reportedly modified the components of the drug to such a great extent that the smokers couldn't tell what they were actually smoking.

"The spike that we're seeing and my personnel are dealing with on the road are unprecedented," Major Eric Gandy of the Clearwater Police Department told WFLA. "Looked like one of our zombie movies ... I had 15 people walking around in various states of incapacitation."

The police said that the surge in spice overdose has been "wreaking havoc" at hospital ERs and the doctors have their hands full as more and more patients come in.

"We have noticed a serious uptick of Spice incidents lately that have turned into medical calls and it's become a serious drain on resources for the police department for the fire department and then in turn for doctors say at Morton Plant Hospital where the patients end up," police spokesman Rob Shaw told WTVT. "You wonder when somebody's going to have a heart attack and die from some of these substances."