Tourist pot complaints up at Colorado emergency rooms

A new study finds marijuana-related ER visits have risen in Colorado since the drug was legalized, especially for out of state visitors. Also, visitors may be trying marijuana edibles, which have delayed effects, for the first time. In that study, marijuana-related ER visits increased 57% from 2011 to 2013.

Colorado’s tourists aren’t just buying weed now that it’s legal – they’re ending up in emergency rooms at rates far higher than residents, according to a new study.

“The interpretation is that emergency room visits possibly related to cannabis use are increasing in both Colorado and out-of-state residents, but the rate is increasing more dramatically among out-of-state visitors”, said lead investigator Dr. Howard Kim, a postdoctoral fellow in emergency medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and an emergency medicine physician at Northwestern Medicine.

Mark Zekulin, president of Tweed Marijuana Inc., a subsidiary of Canopy, said the company is valued at $250 million to $300 million and employs more than 200 people.

“Everyone needs to be aware of the side effects of marijuana use”, said senior author Dr. Andrew Monte, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “I don’t think doctors are going to be comfortable with that”, he said. “Point-of-sale education is critical”.

Adam Curtis, who owns a cannabis dispensary called The Giving Tree of Denver, says “All my employees have a copy of the Good To Know”, These are pamphlets and notecards that the Colorado Department of Health and Environment distributes to marijuana retailers as part of a state public health education campaign. The research took place in the emergency department of UCHealth’s University of Colorado Hospital.

It’s not clear why Colorado residents are doing better than the visitors, but Kim thinks it probably has to do with better understanding of marijuana and its side effects.

This was the case for 19-year-old college student who died from jumping off a balcony after eating more than six times the recommended amount of a marijuana cookie. The autopsy report listed marijuana intoxication as a chief contributing factor. For example, his employees will advise a buyer of a 100 milligram chocolate bar, which splits into 10 pieces, to try one dose at 10 milligrams and wait 45 minutes to an hour before taking another for the desired effect.

Tourists are more apt to make mistakes such as consuming too much edible marijuana because they don’t feel the effects immediately. These efforts aim to decrease adverse effects for all users, including those with less knowledge and experience.

If you’re wondering what the future might be for cannabis legalization in the USA, you might want to start by looking to the north. Earlier today, Canadian Federal Court judge Michael Phelan struck down federal regulations that restrict the rights of medical marijuana patients to grow their own cannabis.