Pubdate: Sun, 11 Mar 2012
Source: Sunday Star-Times (New Zealand)
Copyright: 2012 Sunday Star-Times
Contact:  http://www.sundaystartimes.co.nz
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1064
Author: Michelle Robinson

BABIES AND ELDERLY SUFFERING FROM 'POISON' DOPE

Babies are swallowing cannabis left lying around by their parents, 
calls to the National Poisons Centre show.

Last year the centre received 166 calls from people about adverse 
reactions from recreational drugs. Among them were calls about 
children and babies as young as eight months who had swallowed 
cannabis in their homes. The centre says cannabis oil in particular 
has caused problems.

The children became drowsy and would sometimes vomit, toxicologist 
Leo Schep said. "Like everything that is loosely lying around, they 
will put it in their mouth and if it's a liquid, will drink it."

Side effects could be serious, he said, with the risk of coma and 
depression of the respiratory and central nervous systems.

The centre advises that all children who have ingested cannabis be 
admitted to a hospital emergency department where they can be treated 
with activated charcoal to try to negate the effects.

The centre would not release details on what regions the children 
were from or the specific number of cases, but Schep said they 
happened every year. Similar calls were also received about dogs 
which had ingested cannabis.

Alcohol Drug Association of New Zealand chief executive Paul Rout 
said it was irresponsible of parents to leave drugs in a place where 
they were accessible by children.

It also normalised the habit when children saw their family members 
regularly taking drugs.

"It's a health issue," Rout said. "But it's also teaching them that 
it's acceptable."

A total of 25 calls were made regarding cannabis last year.

Adults getting into trouble with the drug were usually older people 
who had used it in the past but not recently.

The effects of the modern, hydroponically grown version could give 
them a shock as it was so much stronger, Schep said.

"If they're happy sitting in a corner smiling to themselves, we say 
you can leave them there."

But for anything more than a mild reaction, people should get to 
hospital, he said.

The bulk of recreational drug-related calls were for synthetic 
cannabis, with 42 callers suffering ill effects. A temporary 12-month 
ban was placed on 43 popular synthetic cannabis products including 
Kronic in August last year. The government imposed the ban to give it 
time to respond to a Law Commission recommendation that the synthetic 
cannabis industry be required to prove its products are safe.

Party pills spurred the third largest number of calls, with 24 people 
unsure whether they needed to be hospitalised.

For some there was nothing that could be done other than to stay in a 
calm environment and "ride the storm", Schep said.

Most party pills contain BZP, "a dirty little drug with ongoing 
effects", Schep said.

Chest pains, agitation, heart palpitations and an inability to sleep 
can last for days. MDMA, or ecstacy, sparked 19 calls to the National 
Poisons Centre.

Most forms of ecstasy these days involve cathinones which have 
similar hallucinogenic effects to amphetamines.

"The result is people who might have experimented with the old type 
of ecstasy have unexpected effects from newer types," said Massey 
University's Centre for Social and Health Outcomes Research and 
Evaluation senior researcher, Dr Chris Wilkins.

"If people are sensitive to amphetamines, the effects are panic, 
anxiety attacks and a racing heart.

The number of calls about methamphetamine were not as high, with 16. 
This was put this down to rising prices and falling purity.

- - (c) Fairfax NZ News
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