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So it turns out the Three Kings bread that made over 40 people sick might have been intentionally laced with synthetic marijuana, thus explaining the nausea, hallucinations, and out-of-body experiences.
A laboratory announced on Tuesday that they determined that the bread from Santa Ana-based Cholula Bakery was laced with synthetic cannabis, better known as "spice," "incense," or "K2." A woman who was made sick by the Three Kings bread, or rosca de reyes, sent a sample to the Orange County Register, who then submitted it to S&N Laboratories. "The levels in the cake are not small. What is most striking is that this was not inadvertent," said Neil Spingarn, who heads S&N Laboratories.
"They're not thinking of all the people that would react to it, including babies and older people," said Francisco Mora, another victim of the bread.
The Orange County Health Care Agency have only said they found a "synthetic drug" in the bread, and neither the OCHCA or Santa Ana Police have commented on the test results from S&N Labs. The lab is licensed by the DEA.
Spice is a synthetic drug that mimics THC but has far stronger effects, including "extreme anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations," according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It can be purchased at headshops, although many strains of it are banned under federal law.
Health officials shut down Cholula Bakery after finding a cockroach infestation at the facility where the bread was made. But once it was determined the bread was spiked, Santa Ana Police stepped in with a criminal investigation.