By James Gathany

Health officials in Mississippi are warning about an increase of emergency room visits and hospitalizations related to the use of the synthetic drug “spice.”

Since April 2, there have been 97 cases reported to the Mississippi Poison Control Center, health officials said in a news release on Friday.

More than 20 counties throughout the state have reported emergency room admissions from the synthetic drug, which is designed to mimic the effects of marijuana.

“Spice is an unregulated drug. We are seeing people become extremely ill with even the tiniest amount of use,” Dobbs said in a release. “There is absolutely no safe level of inhalation. This is an incredibly dangerous drug and needs to be taken very seriously.”

The effects from using the synthetic drug are unpredictable and adverse outcomes are common, according to health officials, even leading to death in some cases.