Pubdate: Thu, 25 Feb 2016
Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI)
Copyright: 2016 Associated Press
Contact: 
http://www.staradvertiser.com/info/Star-Advertiser_Letter_to_the_Editor.html
Website: http://www.staradvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5154

WEED TAKES BIGGER TOLL ON VISITORS, STUDY FINDS

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.

Doctors reviewed marijuana-related emergency-room admissions at a 
hospital near Denver International Airport in 2014, when the sale of 
recreational pot became legal. The results were published today in 
the New England Journal of Medicine.

The physicians found that the rate of emergency-room visits possibly 
related to marijuana doubled among out-of-state residents in the 
first year of recreational pot sales. The rate went from 85 per 
10,000 visits in 2013 to 168 per 10,000 visits in 2014.

Among Colorado residents, the rate of emergency-room visits possibly 
related to cannabis use did not change significantly between 2013 and 
2014. Among Colorado resident emergency-room patients, 106 per 10,000 
visits entailed marijuana-related ailments in 2013 and 112 per 10,000 
visits involved marijuana-related ailments in 2014.

Tourists and Coloradans also had different complaints related to 
marijuana. Coloradans mostly complained of gastrointestinal problems, 
while the most common ailment by visitors was psychiatric, including 
aggressive behavior and hallucinations.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom