Pubdate: Thu, 19 May 2016
Source: Portland Mercury (OR)
Column: Cannabuzz
Copyright: 2016 The Portland Mercury
Contact:  http://www.portlandmercury.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1174
Author: Josh Jardine

CONSUME WITH CARE

You Can't Overdose on Pot-But Don't Eat Too Much of It

AS MY POT COLUMNIST colleague Vince Sliwoski pointed out in his Ask a 
Pot Lawyer column last week, early recreational sales for cannabis 
edibles, extracts, and topicals will begin in Oregon on June 2. The 
edibles must stay at a low dose of 15 milligrams or less, while 
edibles sold to medical patients won't have a THC limit, just like at present.

Why the difference between recreational and medical users?

Safety is the prime motivator, because we can't have people eating 
edibles and acting in a manner psychologists and mental health 
professionals call "coconut bonkers in the dome."

Potential litigation also comes into play, as a recent lawsuit in 
Denver proves. On April 14, 2014, Richard Kirk purchased a "Karma 
Kandy Orange Ginger" edible, a Tootsie Roll-sized candy that 
contained 100 milligrams of THC. Within hours, his wife Kristine 
called 911, as Richard was "ranting about the end of the world and 
jumping in and out of windows," according to the Denver Post. Shortly 
thereafter, he shot and killed her. The partially eaten candy was 
later found in his home.

Kristine Kirk's parents and sister, who became legal guardians for 
the couple's three children, filed the lawsuit, which named both the 
company that manufactured the edible and the company that sold it to 
Kirk as defendants. The lawyers for the plaintiffs contended, 
"Edibles themselves are not the evil, it is the failure to warn, the 
failure to properly dose, the failure to tell the consumer how to 
safely use edibles, that is the evil." The two companies 
"negligently, recklessly, and purposefully concealed vital dosage and 
labelling information from their actual and prospective purchasers, 
including Kirk, in order to make a profit," the lawsuit stated. The 
suit moved Colorado in January 2015 to require that recreational 
edibles be portioned in increments of 10 milligrams or less of THC, 
or wrapped individually.

Let's be clear: This is a horrible tragedy. But just what size of a 
role did cannabis play? According to the Denver Post, a toxicology 
report from that night shows that Kirk had 2.3 nanometers of THC per 
milliliter of blood in his system. Colorado's limit for "high 
driving" is five nanometers per milliliter. The screening did not 
find evidence of any other drugs or alcohol in his system. Richard 
Kirk's attorneys are mounting a defense that contends that the 
cannabis may have "contributed to or triggered a psychotic break." In 
September 2015, his plea changed from "not guilty" to "not guilty by 
reason of insanity."

In 2014, Colorado's first year of recreational sales, edibles 
accounted for 45 percent of total sales of all cannabis products in 
the state. There have been two deaths associated with cannabis: 
Kristine's, and a 19-year-old who either fell or jumped from a hotel 
balcony after consuming 65 milligrams of THC in the form of a 
cookie-nearly six times the amount recommended by the edible's makers 
and staff members of the dispensary who sold it.

For comparison, you can purchase alcohol that is paint-strippingly 
strong and drink it until you expire, but your estate won't be able 
to successfully sue the liquor store or distiller.

It's important that medical patients have access to edibles as strong 
as they need. And as the opioid crisis in this country has shown us, 
there are no addictive properties in pot edibles, and people don't 
overdose from them, even though anyone who has eaten too much will 
tell you they felt like they were dying.

I've eaten edibles for medical and recreational use for more than 20 
years. I've had what people deem "bad trips" numerous times, always 
because I overconsumed. I experienced effects such as the spins, 
vomiting, and passing out-not to mention saying numerous times to 
anyone in earshot, "I'm really, really high right now." But weed 
never caused me to harm either myself or anyone else. (Unless you 
count eating a dozen doughnuts in one sitting. That might have 
happened to, uh, a friend of mine.)

So on June 2, when 15-milligram edibles hit the streets, consume 
responsibly, and remind your friends to do the same. Don't eat and 
drive. Firearms are a bad choice when high. Keep away from children 
and pets. And mind your doughnut intake.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom