Marijuana Infused Edibles Raises Serious Concerns As Emergency Medical Patients’ Numbers Rise Rapidly; Caused A Recent Death

Boston, MA, 04/05/2014 (medicalmarijuanareporter.com) – Marijuana infused edibles are drawing serious attention of medical representatives as more and more cases are coming forward, with the most recent news being the death of a student in Colorado.

Rising Numbers

The medical director of emergency medicine at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center in Denver, Dr. Scott Bentz claims marijuana smokers are the easiest patients in emergency cases. But the latest case which involved a man who was nearly comatose after eating marijuana infused edible, has set him worrying. Dr. Bentz said that although alcohol related cases are more in number than such cases, he has been noticing a drastic increase in the latter over the past few months.

Dr. Bentz commented that severe medical conditions arise mostly with first timers and more importantly with those who consume edibles. He said that marijuana infused edibles involve a strong risk of overconsumption. Also in this case, the affects can vary widely from intense anxiety to excessive sedation due to the high variation in potency amounts.

Lawmakers Alarmed

What has attracted attention towards the potential risks of marijuana infused products is the recent death of Levy Thamba, a 19 year old student at Wyoming College. He was reported to jump from a hotel balcony after having eaten marijuana doped cookies and becoming agitated. The case, which has been declared an accident, is under investigation by Denver police. Charges may be pressed against the supplier of the cookies to the underage as per the state law.

Lawmakers are seeking to bring about changes related to the current potency levels of these edibles this week. The current state law restricts THC content, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana, to 100 milligrams in edible products. This amount, which is meant for 10 servings, is directed to be consumed over time and not all together. Dr. Bentz explained that naïve users make the mistake of consuming a lot of THC at once.