FOXBOROUGH — Chandler Jones had a bad reaction to synthetic marijuana leading to his admittance to Norwood Hospital Sunday, a source familiar with the situation told the Globe Wednesday.
The source said Jones lives near the Foxborough police station and walked there to seek help after he had the reaction.
The source added that Jones was at the Patriots facility lifting weights at 6:30 a.m. Monday. The team had previously confirmed that Jones was on time for work that morning and hasn't missed any meetings or practices.
Synthetic marijuana is known to be capable of causing extreme anxiety, altered perception, confusion, and paranoia, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
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Despite its name, the substance does not contain marijuana. It is usually sold as chemicals that have been sprayed on dried, shredded plant material or as liquid incense to be vaporized and inhaled in devices such as e-cigarettes.
For the third straight day Jones, recently named to his first Pro Bowl, was in his accustomed spot at the far end of the practice field behind Gillette Stadium, high-stepping his way through wind sprints and participating in stretching. Jones was listed on the team's injury report as limited (abdomen/toe).
All eyes were on Jones, a day after the report surfaced that he had suffered a "medical emergency" according to Foxborough police department logs.
A recording of fire dispatch communications from broadcastify.com that was posted on heavy.com described a "confused party'' arriving at the station at 7:42 a.m., the time when the log indicates Jones got there.
In addition to being transported to the hospital after an evaluation, an officer was sent to "secure the residence'' according to the log.
That officer tells the dispatcher, "If you want to just pass along to the fire, he was definitely involved with Class D, delta, before this happened, just so they know."
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Class D substances include marijuana.
The NFL is aware of the Jones situation and will review it.
According to Rule 1.4.1 from the NFL's Policy on Substances of Abuse, Jones could get entered into Stage I of the NFL drug-testing program if he gets a citation for using synthetic marijuana.
Jones was unavailable Wednesday to reporters, who had access to the locker room before practice. Further efforts to reach him were unsuccessful.
Though most teammates chose not to comment on Jones's situation, they all expressed support for their teammate.
"I certainly don't know enough to comment at all on that situation but I will say this: As a member of this team we support all 50, 60 guys on this team,'' said Matthew Slater, one of the team's captains. "We have their backs, regardless of the situation, and that's no different with Chandler. He has our support. I don't know enough about the situation — nor do I have the right — to comment on that.''
A team that is well-versed in dealing with off-field distractions seemed to be doing just that Wednesday.
"We just ignore it,'' said safety Duron Harmon. "I think Coach [Bill] Belichick just does a great job of just really like brainwashing you. To let you know there's certain things that we need to care about and certain things that we need to just let be. And he does a great job.''
Harmon, who said Jones hadn't addressed his teammates about the situation, said the team specializes in focusing on football.
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"We just try to ignore all the distractions. Whether it's [Jones's] situation or Deflategate or any other situation,'' said Harmon. "When we come in this building we ignore the noise, focus on what we can focus on, get better, and just continue to grind.''
When Harmon was asked if there was concern in the room for Jones, he responded with a firm yes.
"Defintely. It's a family here,'' he said. "I care for everybody. I love everybody in this organization. The way we sit here and have fun together. The way we play football together. We go out there and play for each other. Everybody here cares for each other and we just like to keep it in-home.''
Receiver Danny Amendola echoed his teammates' comments as they rally around their star defensive end, who led the Patriots with a career-high 12.5 sacks.
"Chandler's got a lot of great support in this locker room,'' said Amendola. "He's a great football player and we're excited to see what he does this week.''
Slater responded "certainly'' when asked if there was a responsibility for teammates to keep the focus on the field.
"I think we have to hold one another accountable and understand how hard we've worked to get in this position. The price that we've paid,'' said Slater. "And we don't want to take this opportunity for granted.''
Bob Hohler, Ben Volin, and Astead W. Herndon of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
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