Posted on 01/19/2004 10:04:33 PM PST by Dubya
A man of 36 is believed to have become the first person in Britain to die directly from cannabis poisoning.
Lee Maisey smoked six cannabis cigarettes a day for 11 years, an inquest heard. His death, which was registered as having been caused by cannabis toxicity, led to new warnings about the drug, which is due to be reclassified this month as a less dangerous one.
"This type of death is extremely rare," Prof John Henry, a toxicologist at Imperial College, London, said after the inquest at Haverfordwest, west Wales.
"I have not seen anything like this before. It corrects the argument that cannabis cannot kill anybody."
The inquest heard that Mr Maisey had complained of a headache on Aug 22 last year. Next morning he was found dead at the house he shared with a friend, Jeffrey Saunders, in Summerhill, Pembrokeshire.
Michael Howells, the Pembrokeshire coroner, said Mr Maisey was free from disease and had not drunk alcohol for at least 48 hours. Post-mortem tests showed a high level of cannabinoids in his blood.
He recorded a verdict of death by misadventure because Mr Maisey had died while taking part in an illegal activity. The death led to a warning about the changing strength of Dr Philip Guy, a lecturer in addictions at the University of Hull, said: "Cannabis is not the nice hippy drug it used to be. It has been experimented with to produce stronger varieties."
Dr Guy said that death was more likely if users ate the drug rather than smoked it. "I would not be surprised if in this case the deceased had ingested a fatal amount of cannabis."
Last autumn police issued a warning that big consignments of strong cannabis were being smuggled in from Africa. On Jan 29, cannabis will be reclassified from a class B to a class C drug.
The shadow home secretary, David Davis, said last night: "This highlights what we have been saying about the effects of cannabis all along. When will people wake up to the fact that cannabis can be a harmful drug?
"By reclassifying the drug David Blunkett has shown he has lost the war on drugs. In my eyes, it's nothing more than an admission of failure."
Tristan Millington-Drake, the chief executive of the Chemical Dependency Centre
Wine is biblicaly known as being good for the heart and spirit... and whining is known as to be the curse of the devil.
Wine is biblicaly known as being good for the heart and spirit
Are you in favor of hard liquor continuing to be legal?
Hopefully the Freeper druggies, who so desperately want to escape reality that they resort to illegal drug use, will get help before it's too late.
It doesn't sound like all other causes were ruled out first---it sounds like a government worker telling his bosses what he thinks they'd like to hear.
Is that your response every time someone dies of alcohol poisoning?
Of course we CAN---but the War On Marijuana provides strong incentive not to.
Can you help me, please? When I smoke too many goofballs, I turn into a bat.
Almost. So that you are not confused, I'll let you know. If it were an alcoholic my response would be: "Sad, another alcoholic, in need of help, does himself in."
Why yes I can! At least I can direct you to help. Try the link below:
http://christianonestop.com/2healthandnutritiondrugdirectory.htm
If that one isn't to your liking search the web for "drug abuse help." I'm sure that you'll find the help that you need.
Yes, we need to stop them before they start having sex with colored jazz musicians.
MATTHEW DIES FROM DRINKING TOO MUCH WATER
Apr 27 2002
A MAN collapsed and died from drinking too much water, an inquiry heard yesterday.
Matthew Davies, 32, drank several litres of water every day, unaware he was flushing away essential salts from his body.
The hearing was told he died from the rare condition of water intoxication.
Matthew's father, Gwilym, told the inquest: "He drank water in preference to tea or coffee. He drank water to excess and also drank a lot of orange juice.
"He was at home on the day he collapsed but he had not drunk any more water than usual."
Pathologist Donald Wayte said: "It is a very unusual case. He had drunk so much water, it had washed away essential salts from his body.
"He went into a coma and hospital scans revealed his brain had swollen."Blood was taken for tests and it was found to be diluted. It was concluded he was suffering from water intoxication."
Matthew, of Llandudno, North Wales, died in hospital.
The inquest, in Caernarfon, heard Matthew had been prescribed tablets a few days earlier which may have increased his thirst. A coroner recorded a verdict of death by natural causes.
Daily Record columnist Dr Sarah Brewer said water intoxication may be linked to a psychiatric condition.
She said: "Most of us could do with drinking a bit more water than we do just now.
"But a psychiatric condition can cause people to have the urge to drink more water than is good for them.
"What would be a fatal amount is hard to tell. It depends on many things including a person's build."
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