Here's What Caused the New York City 'Zombie' Outbreak

By Sara G. Miller, Staff Writer | December 15, 2016 11:30am ET

An uncommon drug caused a "zombie" outbreak in a New York City neighborhood this past summer, and now a new report identifies the exact compound that the affected people took.The report also shows scientists how they could identify other such drugs in the future.

The mass intoxication was caused by a type of synthetic marijuana, The New York Times reported at the time. The new report specifically identifies the chemical in the drug product as "AMB-FUBINACA," and also highlights some of the unique difficulties that arise in the study of synthetic drugs.

It's not entirely clear why the drug, which was sold under the name "AK-47 24 Karat Gold," causes "zombie-like" symptoms, such as a slow response time to questions, and blank stares, said study senior author Roy Gerona, a clinical chemist at the University of California, San Francisco.

Indeed, these "zombie" symptoms are "a little uncommon" for people who take synthetic marijuana, Gerona told Live Science. Typically, the synthetic marijuana compounds found in these "mass intoxications" have more severe effects on people's health, including seizures and kidney damage, he said. But in this case, the only effect observed was the depressant, or "zombie-like," effect, he said.

But that effect appeared to be a potent one, Gerona added.

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