Teenage girl is left brain-damaged and blind after smoking synthetic marijuana she bought in a gas station and suffering series of strokes

A teenage girl has narrowly avoided death after smoking 'synthetic marijuana' that she bought from a gas station and suffering a series of strokes.

Seventeen-year-old Emily Bauer, from Cypress, Texas, has been left with brain damage, paralysis and is unable to see after taking the synthetic weed with friends last December.

Her family is now hoping to raise awareness of the dangers of the substance, which is often labelled as 'potpourri', while campaigners battle for stricter laws to make it illegal across the country.

Fake weed, which is also known as 'Spice' or 'K2', is an herbal mixture doused with chemicals that trigger a high similar to smoking marijuana, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

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Former life: Seventeen-year-old Emily Bauer started experiencing severe migraines in December, after smoking a synthetic weed she had bought from a gas station

It is often sold as incense or potpourri, and is advertised as a legal alternative to weed. While many states have outlawed it, manufacturers have responded by slightly changing the compound so that it can return to shelves.

Emily smoked the drug last December with friends and within 15 minutes, she told her boyfriend she was suffering from a migraine and needed to lay down.

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She suffered a series of strokes which left her in a psychotic-like state, during which she urinated on herself, ran into walls, hallucinated and acted violently, her sister told CNN's iReport.

The police were called to help restrain her into an ambulance, and she was taken to Northwest Cypress Hospital, where she bit guardrails and attempted to bite medical staff.
 

Struck down: The drug caused her blood vessels to constrict and she suffered a series of strokes

Frightening: Her family decided to take out her breathing tube - yet the teenager fought for life

'We thought once she comes down off the drug, we'd take her home and show her the dangers of this drug,' her older sister, Blake, said.

'We didn't think it was as big of a deal until 24 hours later she was still violent and hurting herself. We realized you're not supposed to stay high this long.'

She was put into an induced coma as doctors carried out tests on her brain.

Doctors soon found Emily's strokes had caused severe vasculitis, meaning contracting blood vessels had constricted the flow of blood and cut off oxygen to her brain.

'In four days' time, we went from thinking everything is going to be OK and we'll put her in drug rehabilitation to now you don't know if she's going to make it,' stepfather Tommy Bryant told CNN.

Danger: Emily bought the legal 'fake weed' Klimax potpourri by Kush, above, from a gas station

Different life: Emily is now blind and largely paralysed but continues to make small improvements

THE 'LEGAL' THREAT ON SALE IN OUR STORES: WHAT IS FAKE WEED?

Synthetic marijuana, which is known as 'Spice' or 'K2', is an herbal mixture sprayed with chemicals that create a high similar to smoking marijuana, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Advertised as a 'legal' alternative to weed, it's often sold as incense or potpourri. When many states outlawed the drug, manufacturers slightly changed the compound so they were no longer illegal.

It was linked to 11,406 drug-related emergency department visits in 2010, a study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found. Most were aged 12 to 17.

The first state laws banning synthetic drugs were established in 2010. Now at least 41 states have banned them, but that has not deterred the manufacturers.

'These drug manufacturers slightly change the chemical compound, and it becomes a different substance that's not covered by the law,' said NCSL policy specialist Alison Lawrence.
 

Common side effects from smoking synthetic marijuana include bloodshot eyes, disturbed perceptions, a change in mood, paranoia, raised blood pressure or hallucinations.

Doctors soon found Emily's blood vessels were expanding again and while the family saw it as a sign of improvement, pressure on the teenager's brain grew rapidly - and dangerously.

Surgeons had to drill a hole in her skull and insert a tube to relieve pressure. But her brain was still affected.

'We met with Neurology team who showed us Emily's brain images,' her mother, Tonya Bauer, said. 'They told us that all white areas on images were dead. It looked to us at least 70 per cent of the images were white.'

Doctors said Emily would not be able to recognise her family and would never be able to use her arms or legs again.

With this heart-breaking news, Emily's parents made the tough decision to take out her breathing tube and stopped all nourishment on December 16 - but she continued to fight.

As her mother went to her room one morning, she said, 'Good morning, I love you' and was stunned to hear a hoarse voice saying: 'I love you too.'

'Even though she couldn't move, is blind, and could hardly be aware of what was going on around her, she laughed with us as we made jokes and listened to her soft whisper replies,' Blake said.

'It is my little sister shining through, in every way she can manage, with every ounce of strength.'

Struggle: Emily, pictured hooked up to an ECG, has started eating solid food again in an encouraging sign

New world: Emily is believed to have smoked the fake weed with friends after buying it from a gas station

Emily knows where she is and recognises her family, but every day is still shrouded in confusion.

The family does not know how much control she will recover, but she is already moving her arms and legs, and two weeks ago she started eating solid food again.

Emily's parents have started a nonprofit organization called Synthetic Awareness For Emily to educate teenagers and parents about the dangers of synthetic marijuana use.

'Ee want to let kids and parents know about the warnings signs: migraines and withdrawal,' Bryant said. 'We all know the warning signs of alcohol and cocaine, but with this synthetic weed stuff, it's so new that nobody knows about this stuff. We want to let other parents know about this so they don't have to go what we've been going through.'
 

Lack of awareness: Emily's family said they had no idea how dangerous the fake marijuana could be and are now spreading awareness to educate other teenagers and students

Bryant said he knew Emily used real marijuana occasionally, and told her she would be grounded if he ever caught her smoking.

'Had I thought that there was any chance that she could have been hurt by this stuff, I would have been a lot more vigilant. I had no idea it was so bad,' Bryant told CNN.

'I'd never have thought we'd be in this situation. If she had bought it off the street or from a corner, that's one thing, but she bought it from convenience store.'

For more information about the family's nonprofit organization, Synthetic Awareness For Emily (SAFE), visit their Facebook page.