Surge in Marijuana Ills in Colorado and Washington

[SGOS]

https://www.yahoo.com/health/surge-in-marijuana-ills-causes-cries-for-stricter-107307309887.html
I think this report might be suspect.  What does "The number of children treated annually for accidental pot consumption in Colorado has reached double-digits" mean?  It has reached 10?  There isn't much in the way of specifics beyond that, but the argument is lengthened by adding a lot of trash verbiage like "use is up in Colorado and Washington."  Yeah OK, so what?  Wasn't that one of the reasons to make it legal... so people could use it without fear of punishment?

Also, this has been released by an anti pot group, and being political in nature, correct and clear information is probably not the goal of the report.  It's rather early to be posting dire consequences of the law or even it's virtues.  The jury will be out on this for awhile.

The number of children treated annually for accidental pot consumption in Colorado has reached double-digits and a drug treatment chain has seen a surge of teens treated for cannabis abuse, a leading U.S. anti-marijuana group said on Monday.

In a report, marijuana legalization foe Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) also pointed to higher-than-average use in the first states to sanction recreational cannabis, Colorado and Washington state, and an increase in burns from butane hash oil production.

Related: How Marijuana Really Affects The Brain

"We need a pumping-of-the-brakes on the marijuana industry," SAM’s president, Kevin Sabet, said in an interview. "When we have hospitalizations and burns and deaths, we need to stop many of these products from being sold."

The report comes amid rapidly shifting state laws governing marijuana use. Voters in four U.S. states opted to legalize its recreational use, most recently in Oregon and Alaska. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Legalization opponents say Washington state and Colorado have been flooded with dangerous products, from infused candies and concentrates, many far stronger than what might have been smoked in the 1960s.

Related: Which Is Healthier? Marijuana Or Alchohol?

At least 14 Colorado children ages 3 to 7 were sent to hospitals in the first half of 2014 for accidentally ingesting marijuana products, compared with eight in 2013 and four between 2008 and 2011, SAM said of state data.

In Colorado, teen marijuana abuse treatment at about a dozen Arapahoe House Denver-area facilities increased by 66 percent between 2011 and 2014, SAM cited that group as reporting.

Separately on Monday, Colorado health officials announced a $4 million Internet, television and radio public-education campaign aimed at exposing the dangers of cannabis-infused products and aspects of the law.

Use among people ages 18 and older from 2011-2013 in Colorado and Washington has risen about 3 percentage points, from roughly 16 to 19 percent and from 15 to 18 percent, respectively, SAM said, citing federal data. The national average is about 12 percent.

The University of Colorado observed 17 cases of marijuana-related burns in 2014 and 11 cases in 2013, largely from botched butane hash oil extractions, with one case each in the three years prior, SAM said.

"Trying to draw any conclusions with less than one year of data is irresponsible," pro-cannabis Marijuana Policy Project spokesman Mason Tvert said.

He said research on pot has drawn conflicting results and has been limited by the federal ban.

[Solitary]

I like it when they say Marijuana abuse instead of use. Did anyone die from the abuse, like they do with alcohol? I've had panic attacks from getting too high, but it never killed me, it just felt like it did. I agree that making candy with THC is not to bright with kids around. But how about kids that get in their parents liquor cabinet and drive drunk or die from alcohol poisoning? Guns are made to kill, are we going to outlaw guns because people are so dumb they let their kids get them and kill or get killed accidently? The same people that are so against marijuana are also the ones that want their gun rights and not have them controlled. The world has always been a dangerous place, and more people make it more dangerous. The only reason the government doesn't make it legal is because it is classified as a narcotic, which it isn't.  Solitary

[Desdinova]

Who are you more likely to meet?  An obnoxious pothead or a obnoxious drunk?  I rest my case.

[Berati]

Right from the start I felt they should have follwed the same rules as tobacco regarding marketing and sale of Marijuana and they should have much stricter rules on edibles.
I'm not a teetotaler and I like to smoke every now and then but there is no need for any advertising or marketing. It's guaranteed that without restrictions they are going to advertise and market to youth and the edibles marketing has become ridiculous.

What is happening in Colorado and Washington will be watched very closely and if this experiment gets screwed up then it will be much more difficult to export to other jurisdictions and might even be rolled back on those two states.  Those who are pro weed should be in favour of of tighter controls right now. Slow and steady wins the race.

[TrueStory]

I'm sure that part of the increase of a whole 6 kids is in part to the parents not fearing the possibility incriminating themselves. Same for the increase of 6 people from MJ related burns.  I'd be curious to know how many kids get sick and how many people get burned from tobacco.

[MarineWarrior]

Who are you more likely to meet?  An obnoxious pothead or a obnoxious drunk?  I rest my case.

What if I consider them to both be obnoxious?  I don't smoke the ganja and never have but I have always supported the legalization of it.  I also have the idea of legalizing all drugs but that stuff like cocaine and heroine would have to be taken at clinic with nurse and doctor supervision.  I had this idea after my brother died.  A legal clinic would have prevented his death. 

[Shiranu]

I saw an Al Jazeera article talking about how in Colorado the number of burn victims has "skyrocketed" (low numbers, so small changes can look huge) as people are trying to make hash oil at home with butane gas. These victims then come in and show signs of marijuana dependency (the hash oil has a 90% THC concentration, which is ridiculous), such as being unresponsive to other painkillers, loss of appetite and so on.

Here is that article...

http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/articles/2015/1/2/thc-burn-victims.html

Note; I am a 110% in favour of legalizing pot, but there are certainly some negative aspects that the legalization community needs to be aware of. That said, I also feel you could say the exact same thing in the time of prohibition; yes, there will be negatives to legalizing alcohol but it won't be as many as keeping it illegal causes.

[Jason78]

What's butane hash oil production?  That sounds like an industrial process.

[Shiranu]

What's butane hash oil production?  That sounds like an industrial process.

As I understand it...

It is very much like how a meth lab is ran, where they use decent amounts of butane gas to heat up the marijuana and collect either the vapors or the oil (I'm not exactly sure which is produced at this stage). The oil that is the final product has a huge concentration of THC in it (90% vs like 5-15% in regular/high end marijuana) and is worth more per gram than gold.

The problem is that there are professionals who make it in laboratories and whatnot, and then your average joes off the street who think themselves scientists. The butane gas ends up leaking and remaining in the house, and then the smallest spark lights it up.

It pretty much is an industrial process that idiots think they can do in their home. I guess it is comparable to meth labs but also the people who use to run distilleries and would have them explode; isn't a good argument against weed/alcohol, but it is something to be aware of. Leave such things to the professionals.

[Desdinova]

What if I consider them to both be obnoxious?  I don't smoke the ganja and never have but I have always supported the legalization of it.  I also have the idea of legalizing all drugs but that stuff like cocaine and heroine would have to be taken at clinic with nurse and doctor supervision.  I had this idea after my brother died.  A legal clinic would have prevented his death.

Yes they can both be obnoxious, but you are more likely to meet an obnoxious drunk.  Was just trying to make the point that alcohol is far worse than marijuana.  Not saying that weed doesn't have it's own problems, it does.  But I've never seen a someone go through withdrawal trying to kick pot.  I like the idea of drug legalization, but I don't know how you would get people to take it at a clinic under supervision.  Perhaps decriminalization is the answer.  We spend way too much on the war on drugs, money that could be better spent on education and rehab.

[TrueStory]

As I understand it...

It is very much like how a meth lab is ran, where they use decent amounts of butane gas to heat up the marijuana and collect either the vapors or the oil (I'm not exactly sure which is produced at this stage). The oil that is the final product has a huge concentration of THC in it (90% vs like 5-15% in regular/high end marijuana) and is worth more per gram than gold.

The problem is that there are professionals who make it in laboratories and whatnot, and then your average joes off the street who think themselves scientists. The butane gas ends up leaking and remaining in the house, and then the smallest spark lights it up.

It pretty much is an industrial process that idiots think they can do in their home. I guess it is comparable to meth labs but also the people who use to run distilleries and would have them explode; isn't a good argument against weed/alcohol, but it is something to be aware of. Leave such things to the professionals.

I understand what you and the article are saying but I don't think it has anything to do with legal weed sales.  They aren't legally buying weed and then using butane on it because it's super expensive to buy legally to begin with.  If you look up how much it is in the seattle area there is no way one could make money doing that.  Also you can buy 70% thc concentrates legally right now.

[Jason78]

It is very much like how a meth lab is ran, where they use decent amounts of butane gas to heat up the marijuana and collect either the vapors or the oil (I'm not exactly sure which is produced at this stage). The oil that is the final product has a huge concentration of THC in it (90% vs like 5-15% in regular/high end marijuana) and is worth more per gram than gold.

I've looked into it and apparently they would have used it as a solvent.   I'm half tempted to break out my glassware and see if it works!

[Shiranu]

I understand what you and the article are saying but I don't think it has anything to do with legal weed sales.  They aren't legally buying weed and then using butane on it because it's super expensive to buy legally to begin with.  If you look up how much it is in the seattle area there is no way one could make money doing that.  Also you can buy 70% thc concentrates legally right now.

The thing is the number of people doing it has gone up since it was legalized.

Again like I said though, with numbers so small... yes, it went up a large percent but with those small of numbers that isn't a big deal.

And that's what makes it more confusing that people are doing it; you can get it safely, legally, but there are still idiots out there who try to make it at home. I posted it more as a curiosity issue that has come up since legalization rather than an argument one way or another. That, and as it mentions the victims show signs of marijuana dependency and withdrawal, an issue to brought up much in the legalization camp.

[TrueStory]

The thing is the number of people doing it has gone up since it was legalized.

Again like I said though, with numbers so small... yes, it went up a large percent but with those small of numbers that isn't a big deal.

It could be a factor but it could just be a coincidence.  Also stated was that in 1985 THC was about 3% and now it's 13%, i'm guessing a steady increase over time, so the fact that more people now are trying to get extreme concentrates could just be a natural progression.

And that's what makes it more confusing that people are doing it; you can get it safely, legally, but there are still idiots out there who try to make it at home. I posted it more as a curiosity issue that has come up since legalization rather than an argument one way or another. That, and as it mentions the victims show signs of marijuana dependency and withdrawal, an issue to brought up much in the legalization camp.

I hear yah, or read yah.

[Aletheia]

I wonder if there's a market for safer outdoor lab set up for this butane hash oil production for home use?

Possibly two methods to improve public safety:

1.) State regulated (or state approved) "how to sites" with periodically updated instructions as safety requirements change.

2.) Companies which sell ready-made set ups which adhere to state regulations.

This might help the thinking process of the not-so-bright in the general public.

ETA:

This would establish a "legal" way in which to do this, which would remove much of the focus from marijuana by the anti-marijuana group.

When someone is injured using this process, then it can be investigated to see if they were using state-approved methods. If not, then it's not a marijuana related problem, but a breaking the law problem. It would make separating the responsible from the irresponsible marijuana users much easier.

Lastly, if a person does come up with a better way of doing this process, they can apply for a patent. If accepted, then the regulations would be updated.