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Death by Marijuana? A study of two such deaths.

Friday, February 28, 2014 11:34 AM | Anonymous

A study that reviews the deaths of two young men who died unexpectedly while under the influence of marijuana concludes they died as a result of their marijuana use.  While marijuana use is not associated with overdose deaths (because marijuana receptors are not found where life support functions exist), these deaths occured from cardiac failure.  In one case, an underlying heart problem contributed and marijuana can cause arrhythmia.   

The study calls into question a long-held claim of marijuana proponents--that no one has ever died from marijuana.   The study suggests that marijuana, like all drugs, should only be used after a thorough examination by a medical doctor to determine if it is safe for the user. 

As an aside, the study also demonstrates that levels of blood THC are signifcantly lower than THC levels in the brain.  In both cases, the subjects had approximately 300% more Delta 9 THC in brain tissue than in the blood.  The subjects also had psychoactive 11-OH-THC at much higher levels in the brain than in their blood--around 350% more.  

The full study can be seen here:  Hartung_ForensicSciIntl_2014.pdf 

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