First Woman in UK Dies From Smoking Marijuana: What is Cannabis Poison

[OZ Stoners]

A mother-of-three is the first woman in the UK who is believed to have died from cannabis poisoning. Gemma Moss, from Bournemouth, Dorset, collapsed in bed after smoking a cannabis cigarette. It is understood she might have suffered a cardiac arrest after smoking the class B drug, as none of her vital organs showed anything wrong. Dr Kudair Hussein, a pathologist, told the inquest in Bournemouth ...

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First Woman in UK Dies From Smoking Marijuana: What is Cannabis Poisoning?By Lydia Smith

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  First Woman in UK Dies From Smoking Marijuana: What is Cannabis Poisoning?

A mother-of-three is the first woman in the UK who is believed to have died from cannabis poisoning.

Gemma Moss, from Bournemouth, Dorset, collapsed in bed after smoking a cannabis cigarette. An investigation revealed Moss had moderate to high levels of cannabis in her body as a result.

It is understood she might have suffered a cardiac arrest after smoking the class B drug, as none of her vital organs showed anything wrong. A coroner noted cannabis toxicity and cannabis abuse as the cause of death.

Moss, a 31-year-old devout Christian, had used the drug frequently but stopped two years ago. She had recently started again to help her sleep, when she became depressed and anxious after breaking up with her boyfriend.

Dr Kudair Hussein, a pathologist, told the inquest in Bournemouth: "I looked through literature and it's well known that cannabis is of very low toxicity. But there are reports which say cannabis can be considered as a cause of death because it can induce a cardiac arrest."

Deaths as a direct result of cannabis are extremely unusual, with the first recorded death from the drug recorded just a decade ago. In 2004, an enquiry into the death of Lee Maisley, from Pembrokshire, revealed poisoning from marijuana as the cause.

Cannabis poisoning can occur in many forms, in which using the drug has directly resulted in an impairment in physical or mental health. The effects of the drug are caused by chemical compounds it contains, including tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly known as THC. It has both psychological and physiological effects on the body.

Using the drug has one minor toxic effect, in which the heart and vascular system are affected. However, the increase in heart rate and a lowering of blood pressure can lead to significant problems including cardiac arrest. It is known patients with angina or other cardiovascular disease are at particular risk.

There is growing evidence that people with serious mental illness, including depression and psychosis, are more likely to use cannabis or have used it for long periods of time in the past. Regular use of the drug has appeared to double the risk of developing a psychotic episode or long-term schizophrenia, particularly in those with a genetic vulnerability.

As reported by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, a study following 1600 Australian school-children revealed those who used cannabis regularly were five times more likely to develop depression and anxiety in later life.

Similarly, it was found that an individual was four times more likely to develop schizophrenia if they started smoking cannabis before the age of 15.

Other causes of death have been related to marijuana use, yet are not directly linked to cannabis poisoning. Fatal accidents, such as car crashes, have been linked to cannabis as it can impair psychomotor performances.

In the UK, the government listed five deaths from cannabis between 1993 and 1995, yet an investigation revealed the deaths had been due to inhalation of vomit.

There are, however, arguments that cannabis has medical benefits. It is a muscle-relaxant which is believed to help multiple sclerosis patients, by helping to subside the neurological effects and muscle spasms. Marijuana is also said to help relieve sickness and nausea in stages of cancer and AIDS.

[Naycha]

.................It is understood she might have suffered a cardiac arrest after smoking the class B drug, as none of her vital organs showed anything wrong. A coroner noted cannabis toxicity and cannabis abuse as the cause of death..........

 

................

 

Dr Kudair Hussein, a pathologist, told the inquest in Bournemouth: "I looked through literature and it's well known that cannabis is of very low toxicity. But there are reports which say cannabis can be considered as a cause of death because it can induce a cardiac arrest."

 

...........................

 

In the UK, the government listed five deaths from cannabis between 1993 and 1995, yet an investigation revealed the deaths had been due to inhalation of vomit............

 

 

I don't even know what to say really...... 'might have suffered a cardiac arrest'. Sounds like they don't know what happened so Cannabis is an easy scapegoat.

 

As with the other 5 previously listed cases of Cannabis deaths a closer investigation would likely reveal the actual cause of death.

 

Naycha

[DoctorWho]

http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2014/01/gemma_moss_british_woman_did_not_die_from_marijuana_poisoning.php

 

There's another article on it.

 

 

I don't even know what to say really...... 'might have suffered a cardiac arrest'. Sounds like they don't know what happened so Cannabis is an easy scapegoat.

 

As with the other 5 previously listed cases of Cannabis deaths a closer investigation would likely reveal the actual cause of death.

 

Naycha

At the end of the story on the link I just put up it says "But the UK seemingly loves to blame pot for things it has nothing to do with. The government has officially listed five deaths that were "caused" by marijuana in the mid-1990s. It was later revealed that all of those deaths were actually caused by the deceased choking on their own vomit."

[redatnite]

Nothing positive for the family to be found here.

A lot of believes, mights and maybes.

Are these the only answers they get? There are some reports it may have been poisoning?

I hope they get some closer on this soon.

Peace

Red

[Ford Fairlane]

Correlation does not imply causation. Is the first thing you learn in any basic statistics course.

[louise]

Correlation does not imply causation. Is the first thing you learn in any basic statistics course.

Exactly, stats 101 - a temporal contiguity does not a causal relationship make....

 

I wonder... did she have a sandwich before smoking the joint and going to bed?

 

... studies show that most cardiac arrests in western countries occur within a few hours of consuming wheat products that have been cooked into breads.

 

It's quite alarming to think that governments around the world are not warning us about the potential harms of eating bread.

 

 

 

Yeah, I am being facetious, but I'm not trying to make light of this woman's death... every premature death is a human tragedy.

 

 

 

Back to statistics ... for quite some time doctors believed constipation could cause a cardiac arrest.

 

The evidence was that many people had their heart attack whilst sitting on the toilet... it was surmised that straining over a bowel motion could trigger heart failure. It was decades before the relationship was proved spurious... these days the relationship b/w toilets and heart attacks is explained thus -

 

... in the lead up to a heart attack, many people feel a bit sick in the guts and when you feel like that - you head to the loo. The relationship is purely social (that's where we go when we feel crook).

 

 

All that said, the way I see it is that governments are NOT interested so much in the health of their country's population. They are interested in controlling behaviour, health issues are just a screen used to scare us into submission and accept that 'they' know what is good for 'us'.

 

 

If we were truly intent on improving the health of the nation we'd be putting effort into the diseases that are on the rise (remembering that psychosis rates are actually DECLINING) like stds... gonorrhoea and chlamydia, both on the rise and both have major impacts on health and fertility.... not to mention HIV, which after a few years at a plateau, new cases are rising and have been rising each year since 2011/2012.

 

 

And it's not just about cost either, huge amounts of public moneys were spent to develop, test and implement a quick and easy cannabis detection kit... ostensibly to keep our roads safe from stoners in cars, yet we still don't have rapid testing for HIV. And that is despite rapid testing being recognised as one of the important steps to controlling the spread of disease over a decade ago.

 

 

I'll step down off the soapbox now because this homeless guy keeps telling me to get off his roof.

Edited January 31, 2014 by louise

[Naycha]

Big ups to that post Lou.

 

Naycha

 

p.s you dented my roof

[louise]

Thanks Nay... and sorry about the roof.

[Faith]

Exactly, stats 101 - a temporal contiguity does not a causal relationship make....

 

I wonder... did she have a sandwich before smoking the joint and going to bed?

 

... studies show that most cardiac arrests in western countries occur within a few hours of consuming wheat products that have been cooked into breads.

 

It's quite alarming to think that governments around the world are not warning us about the potential harms of eating bread.

 

 

 

Yeah, I am being facetious, but I'm not trying to make light of this woman's death... every premature death is a human tragedy.

 

 

 

Back to statistics ... for quite some time doctors believed constipation could cause a cardiac arrest.

 

The evidence was that many people had their heart attack whilst sitting on the toilet... it was surmised that straining over a bowel motion could trigger heart failure. It was decades before the relationship was proved spurious... these days the relationship b/w toilets and heart attacks is explained thus -

 

... in the lead up to a heart attack, many people feel a bit sick in the guts and when you feel like that - you head to the loo. The relationship is purely social (that's where we go when we feel crook).

 

 

All that said, the way I see it is that governments are NOT interested so much in the health of their country's population. They are interested in controlling behaviour, health issues are just a screen used to scare us into submission and accept that 'they' know what is good for 'us'.

 

 

If we were truly intent on improving the health of the nation we'd be putting effort into the diseases that are on the rise (remembering that psychosis rates are actually DECLINING) like stds... gonorrhoea and chlamydia, both on the rise and both have major impacts on health and fertility.... not to mention HIV, which after a few years at a plateau, new cases are rising and have been rising each year since 2011/2012.

 

 

And it's not just about cost either, huge amounts of public moneys were spent to develop, test and implement a quick and easy cannabis detection kit... ostensibly to keep our roads safe from stoners in cars, yet we still don't have rapid testing for HIV. And that is despite rapid testing being recognised as one of the important steps to controlling the spread of disease over a decade ago.

 

 

I'll step down off the soapbox now because this homeless guy keeps telling me to get off his roof.

Nice post Louise   naycha