Pubdate: Fri, 26 Feb 2016
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN)
Copyright: 2016 Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.startribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/266
Author: Kristen Wyatt, Associated Press

MORE TOURISTS TAKE POT COMPLAINTS TO ER

DENVER (AP) - 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, a study said.

Doctors reviewed marijuana-related emergency-room admissions at a 
hospital near Denver International Airport during 2014, when the sale 
of recreational pot became legal. The results were published Thursday 
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 complained of marijuana-related ailments in 2013 and 112 per 
10,000 visits complained of marijuana-related ailments in 2014.

The difference between tourists and residents played out statewide.

Tourists and Coloradans also had different complaints. Coloradans 
mostly complained of gastrointestinal problems, while the most common 
ailment by visitors was psychiatric, including aggressive behavior 
and hallucinations.

Men were two to three times more likely than women among both groups 
to complain of cannabis-related ailments in emergency rooms. 
Coloradans were slightly younger than out-of-state residents, with a 
median age of 34 for residents and a median age of 35.5 for visitors.

The doctors said the difference between tourists and residents caught 
them by surprise.

"We didn't expect people from out of state to actually be coming to 
the emergency department mentioning this drug more often," said Dr. 
Andrew Monte, a toxicologist and emergency-room physician at the 
University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora.

The cases of both tourists and residents reporting feeling like 
they'd overdosed on pot were a "vast minority" of those showing up 
complaining of a cannabis-related ailment, Monte said. Instead, the 
patients usually reported that pot exacerbated an underlying medical 
condition, especially schizophrenia or psychosis.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom