There are times when we make a decision in life and we end up paying dearly for it. This 19-year-old man named Connor Reid Eckerd made such a decision, and it cost him his life. While out with friends, he purchased a legal drug but after taking a single hit, he lapsed into a coma, was on life support for four days and eventually was declared brain-dead.
This bad decision that Connor made cost him his life and it was a single head of synthetic marijuana that led him down that path. It is noteworthy that Connor was not the first individual to suffer this fate but if his mother has her way, things are going to change.
Connor’s mother may have lost a son but she is doing her part to make sure that other mothers do not suffer in the same way. She started the Connor Project Foundation, helping to bring awareness and education along with prevention of these unnecessary deaths. Their website is appropriately named The Dirtiest Secret
A quote from Connor’s mother tells it all…
“I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND AGAIN CONNOR!!! WHEN YOU WERE BORN YOUR LITTLE FINGERS WRAPPED AROUND MINE AS WE FIRST MET. A newborn baby. So innocent and sweet. WE WAITED YEARS FOR YOU, a gift from God. IT SEEMED LIKE WE BLINKED AND WE HAD TO GIVE YOU BACK. Here we could not get your FINGERS TO WRAP AROUND OURS ANY LONGER BECAUSE YOUR BRAIN NO LONGER FUNCTIONED. A “hit of spice” took your life. No other drugs or alcohol were in your body. We cherish those handprints, even if your hands were stiff. HOLD YOUR CHILDREN’S HANDS. Memorize them. Please educate yourself and your children on the dangers of synthetic drugs. These drugs do not discriminate. The Connor Project Foundation is about Education, Awareness, and Prevention. Please share Connor’s story. It may just save a life!”
The main difficulty is that the drug that took Connor’s life is legal to purchase and it can be sold to anyone of any age! The effects of this drug are worse than marijuana but it is a synthetic type of marijuana that goes by many different names. Some of the 600 different names that it is known by include Marley, cloud 9 and Scooby snacks.
Because of the efforts of the family to expose this dangerous drug, they received some time on the Today Show. It was on that show the Connor’s father said “You would think it would be safe, would be OK, it’s an alternative to marijuana and it’s anything but that. It’s a deadly poison.”
More than likely, Connor did not know about the dangers of the drug before he took the single hit that eventually took his life. According to hospital personnel, emergency rooms are seeing these types of cases on a frequent basis.
The effects of spice on the brain are not typically what the user expects. Once it takes hold, it can cause severe reactions including convulsions, anxiety, agitation, combativeness and hallucinations. In some cases, spice may even cause psychotic episodes, seizures, paralysis, heart attacks and kidney failure. In Connor’s case, it caused him to lapse into a coma and eventually it took his life.
This “legal drug” is made in laboratories throughout the world, including in Eastern Europe, China and America. The people that make it are not concerned about quality or the harm that it may cause. In some cases, there may even be other chemicals included that can cause additional damage.
One of the ways that you can help Connor’s mom to spread the word is by telling your family and friends about the dangers of this drug. By sharing the story, you may help to save a life!
