Bonzai Hospitalizes 45 In Eskişehir In June, Records Reveal

Hospital records in the province of Eskişehir have revealed that 45 people in the city were hospitalized due to the use of bonzai between June 1 and July 2, according to the Meydan daily's report on Monday.

Among the 45 people hospitalized, seven were under the age of 18 -- one was 12, two were 13, two were 14 and two were 15 years old.

According to a statement published on the website of the Eskişehir Governor's Office, 27 people were hospitalized due to the use of bonzai in four days between June 27 and 30.

The statement by Eskişehir Governor Güngör Azim Tuna also revealed data received from the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Bureau of Eskişehir. According to the data, police seized almost 20 kilograms of marijuana, 23,317 ecstasy tablets, around seven kilograms of bonsai, 151 Captagon tablets and 29 grams of heroin in the last seven months.

Bonzai is the street name of phenazepam in Turkey. Phenazepam is an entirely chemical substance that can cause a rapid increase in blood pressure and heart rate, severe dry mouth, hallucinations, a feeling of hunger, memory loss, temporary blindness and temporary paralysis. It is a pharmaceutical drug designated for the treatment of several neurological diseases in certain countries, but its legal status varies in different parts of the world.

The deadly drug has been an issue in Turkey since 2010, but authorities have failed to successfully combat its increasing prevalence. Soaring statistics regarding bonzai-related deaths have been ignored, as has the data indicating the increasingly younger ages of the users. Recent data suggest that the spread of bonzai use has reached an unprecedented and shocking rate.

According to experts, physical symptoms indicating use of the drug include changes in appetite and sleep patterns, difficulty concentrating, inability to sleep, hallucinations, unusual laziness, tremors and shakes.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)