Overdose of medical marijuana sends a man to the emergency room



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Overdose of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in humans can serve as a warning against the risks associated with highly concentrated cannabis products available as "medical marijuana".

As reported in New England Journal of Medicine, the 52-year-old man with a brain tumor arrived at the emergency department with acute delirium. His wife told the staff that he had had increasing agitation and confused speeches during the previous two days.

Jeanmarie Perrone, MD, and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, noted that during the presentation, the patient "was awake, but unable to answer questions, reorientable intermittently and in a state of hyperactive delirium ".

Perrone said MedPage today these tests to determine if delirium was due to the patient's brain tumor revealed nothing. When emergency room doctors examined the patient's medication, they found a syringe that, according to his wife, had been used to administer a liquid marijuana formulation.

"They used it to try to stimulate his appetite, but I'm not sure any of his doctors knew about it, I do not think they knew him," he said. said Perrone.

The product packaging revealed that the 1 ml syringe contained about 500 mg of THC at 65.9%. About two-thirds had been used, a total of 330 mg of THC, apparently consumed orally for several days.

"A typical recreational dose is about 10 mg, so it was a very concentrated product," said Perrone, adding that the patient was taking a drop or two at a time. "It does not seem like much, but in this case it was enough to cause disorientation."

Once in the hospital, the mental symptoms of the man have lessened.

There are no standardized dosing instructions for highly concentrated THC products used for medical reasons, and it is the patient's responsibility to understand the dosage, Perrone said.

A total of 33 states and the District of Columbia now allow the use of marijuana to treat a variety of medical conditions, although marijuana laws for medical purposes vary considerably from state to state.

Perrone said that with the increased use of THC and cannabidiol (CBD) for medical use in patients with serious medical problems, "there is a whole new area of ​​regulation to consider."

In their correspondence to NEJMPerrone and colleagues have called for the regulation and monitoring of THC and CBD products used for medical purposes.

"With the increasing use of marijuana for medical purposes, it is time for regulations to standardize and monitor these substances," the authors wrote.

In addition, there is currently no national or national database to report adverse effects related to marijuana use for medical purposes, noted Perrone.

The federal government's MedWatch, FDA-Administered Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Program does not accept reports on CBD products not approved by the federal government.

"Packaging changes to avoid such concentration [THC] Perrone and colleagues concluded that the formulations and a central reporting, research and regulatory body were late.

Perrone and his co-authors stated that they have no relevant conflicts of interest.

1969-12-31T19: 00: 00-0500

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