I can hear the prohibitionists cheering. Not only do they applaud the
jailing of otherwise law abiding citizens, their ineffective policies have
given rise to poisoned supplies.
UKCIA has been warning about contaminated cannabis for over a year now.
Back in December 2006 we were a alerted to the “Grit weed” problem -
herbal cannabis containing microscopic glass beads. Things, it seems, have
just taken a turn for the worse - much worse.
The April 10th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine has re****ted
that herbal cannabis in Europe has been found to be contaminated with lead
shot which has produced casualties. Read the re****t here
The re****t states “Recently, during a period of 3 to 4 months, 29
patients (16 to 33 years of age) were admitted to four different hospitals
in the greater Leipzig area (population, approximately 650,000) with
classic signs and symptoms of lead intoxication. Twenty of these patients
were admitted to our hospital (University Hospital Leipzig), 16 on an
emergency basis (Table 1). The patients presented with abdominal cramps,
nausea, anemia of varying severity, and fatigue. Most patients had
basophilic stippling and a “Burton’s line,” and some had neurologic
symptoms. In other hospitals, one patient had severe encephalopathy with
hallucinations and peripheral neuropathy with permanent extensor palsy in
the forearm, and another patient underwent exploratory laparoscopy.
The cause was traced to contaminated cannabis which these people had
smoked. Lead is being added because it not only increases weight, but is
all but invisible by virtue of its colour.
“The current working hypothesis of the police is that because of its
high specific gravity and inconspicuous grayish color, lead was used to
increase the weight of street marijuana sold by the gram and thereby to
maximize profits among dealers. In the material that was obtained, the
lead content on average was 10% by weight, which translates into a profit
increase of approximately €1,000 ($1,500.00) per kilogram of marijuana.
Lead particles smoked in a joint, which can have a core temperature of
1200°C,2 are very effectively absorbed in the respiratory tract. The
medical community, including pediatricians,3 should consider adulterated
marijuana as a potential source of lead intoxication.”
More:
http://ukcia.org/wordpress/
--
Dr John Watson
Baker Street
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