23 April 2014

Cautionary notes re edible marijuana

From an AP article in the StarTribune:
Twenty-six people have reported poisonings from marijuana edibles this year, when the center started tracking such exposures. Six were children who swallowed innocent-looking edibles, most of which were in plain sight...

An autopsy report listed marijuana intoxication as a significant contributing factor in the death of 19-year-old Levy Thamba Pongi. Authorities said Pongi, who traveled from Wyoming to Denver with friends to try marijuana, ate six times more than the amount recommended by a seller... Toxicologists later found that the cookie Pongi ate contained as much THC — marijuana's intoxicating chemical — as six high-quality joints...

For now, the industry is trying to educate consumers about the strength of pot-infused foods and warning them to wait up to an hour to feel any effects before eating more. Still, complaints from visitors and first-time users have been rampant.

"One of the problems is people become very impatient," Bronstein said. "They eat a brownie or a chocolate chip cookie and they get no effect, so then they stack the doses, and all the sudden, they get an extreme effect that they weren't expecting."
More at the link.

5 comments:

  1. Oh, that reminds me of the day I turned 21. I wanted to try this new alcohol thing, so I bought a bottle of whiskey and drank half of it as fast as I could. I wasn't drunk yet, so I drank the other half. Then I died. True story!

    I live in Boulder, and haven't seen any particular changes around here. We've had "medicinal" for a few years now, so the novelty factor may have worn off. Marijuana tourism may end up leading to more pronounced issues over time. I do believe that the industry bears careful watching, but stories about men shooting their wives while high strike me as pure sensationalism.

    My concern about legal marijuana is more about how it could be used as a way to distract the public from all of the things that lawmakers are failing to do. They can't balance the budget, or keep their armies in their pants, but who cares if we can legally get high?

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  2. I did this in Amsterdam, ate a cake, didn't feel anything for ages so smoked some more. High as a kite for the next six hours. No serious side effects though, just some serious munchies.

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  3. last i checked it was impossible to die of a cannabis overdose. if cannabis contributed to an accidental death or was combined with other drugs, that probably should have been mentioned in the article. 6 high quality joints will not kill you.

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  4. He jumped... Yes he may have had more then what he should have but it is not why he died. Uhgg.

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  5. Reefer Madness.....

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