Twice As Many Pot Tourists Filling Colorado Emergency Rooms

How many Tourists end up in Colorado emergency rooms re alcohol related Problems? Pot, booze, moderation is the key. Then there are prescription drugs. Any drug can make you ill if not taken responsibly. I have been toking for over forty years.


raised a family, cared for my dying mother. I have a stressful career. Cigarettes were my only addiction, gave them up six years ago. BC Bud is strong pot. I am as responsible around pot as booze.
 
I've never been a pot smoker. I just don't care for it. I do however have one kid that is a regular pot smoker. If you asked me if I preferred her to be a regular boozer or a regular pot smoker I'd definitely choose pot smoker. I do think that perhaps pot can relieve some people who are terribly anxiety ridden ..give them some peace. I mean to a point.. now if you do nothing but smoke pot all the live long day every day...not good, but anything can be bad. Food can be bad. If you eat cheesecake all day long...not good.
 
I remember calling my youngest who is going to college in Louisiana one weekend and she had a couple people over. I heard the coughing so I told her " You need to make your boyfriend some nice chicken soup." Then I heard her amused voice tell her boyfriend " My mother thinks I should make you some chicken soup." Then I heard the stifled giggles...duh I'm mom ready with the chicken soup
 
They did make a big mistake with the edibles in the beginning. They weren't properly labeled and people were eating a whole cookie that was the equivalent to 5 doses maybe. Now they've wised up and cracked down, they have exact per serving amounts and stricter regulations. Of course being in a high altitude doesn't help matters either to those who over indulged. Even those who drink beer are warned not to indulge until they are used to the altitude, as they can suffer dizziness, etc.
 
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I wonder if the number of non-resident skier emergency room visits have increased, too, since Colorado became a tourist mecca.

These attacks on marijuana are so thinly veiled - note the stats come only from ONE academic hospital.

And note the cases - anxiety, bad tummy, etc. - try comparing those to the booze-related accidents.
 
SifuPhil said:
Market Watch - THE premiere source for all your marijuana news ...

I wonder if the number of non-resident skier emergency room visits have increased, too, since Colorado became a tourist mecca.

These attacks on marijuana are so thinly veiled - note the stats come only from ONE academic hospital.

And note the cases - anxiety, bad tummy, etc. - try comparing those to the booze-related accidents.
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The study was a statistical analysis from data from the Colorado Department of Public health which made It to the New England Journal of Medicine. CNN and the Denver Post reported on the study/story as well.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/24/health/colorado-pot-er-visits/index.html

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_2...colorado-tourists-emergency-rooms-than-locals

As noted by people here I think one of the big factors is altitude, pre existing conditions and alcohol(if someone is willing to travel for a chemical high to me there's a good chance they're going to have a high already). Throw in things like the stronger pot and edibles which were mentioned it is a combination for disaster. I don't think pot is like alcohol, yes a drunk person can suffer some serious consequences but my guess is pot could sneak up on someone faster and harder. Just because it's legal doesn't make it safe.
 
From the Denver Post (the first apparent source of the story):

The study can't positively peg marijuana use as the cause of the visit, said Andrew Monte, assistant professor of emergency medicine and toxicology at the CU School of Medicine.
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So once again what we have is supposition and extrapolation, not hard facts and proper research.

Actually the study was a statistical slap-and-tickle from the University Hospital, who relayed the stats to the DPH. At least, that's my understanding of it.

Yes, pot tourists are often going to be jerks and over-smoke - I agree with that. But studies like this disgrace the originating bodies as well as cast another dark shadow on marijuana. People latch onto the headlines and never read the article itself.
 
After considerable experience dealing with people suffering from various forms of substance abuse, I have found pot to have far less deleterious affects on a person's mind or body, and at worst a negligible risk of any dependence, when compared with

any of the proven addictive substances, legal or otherwise. This includes everything from alcohol, prescription drugs, to dangerous hard drugs, and tobacco.
 
The "legalization" of marijuana needs to move forward on a national level. Half of its "attraction" is probably due to its being illegal, and serves as an incentive to those who feel "adventurous". People are going to use this stuff, no matter what kinds of laws are on the books....so we might as well learn from the lessons of Prohibition. Banning Booze made the Mafia rich, and banning MJ is doing the same for the Drug Cartels.

Having little control, or regulation, of this substance is allowing for all sorts of "mixtures" to hit the market....some of which are quite potent, and even toxic. These hopped up variations are probably responsible for most of the adverse reactions that some people are experiencing.

Common sense regulation and restrictions are the only logical way to approach the use of this, or any, "substance".
 
SifuPhil said:
From the Denver Post (the first apparent source of the story):



So once again what we have is supposition and extrapolation, not hard facts and proper research.

Actually the study was a statistical slap-and-tickle from the University Hospital, who relayed the stats to the DPH. At least, that's my understanding of it.

Yes, pot tourists are often going to be jerks and over-smoke - I agree with that. But studies like this disgrace the originating bodies as well as cast another dark shadow on marijuana. People latch onto the headlines and never read the article itself.
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But they still called the statistical spike in out of stater trips to hospitals 'surprising'. Again though, it's just a statistical analysis. Perhaps they need to study drug test results on treated patients to see if the pot complaints match the pot content in their system.

They did mention that the patients initial complaint included pot use or a pot use related problems. Now that could be the patient self diagnosing. The most common pot related complaint from that study was gastrointestinal so edible seems to be a fairly big issue. Also noted was that a non regular pot user on an actual 'normal' vacation to Colorado might have just tried pot thinking it would be casual use. Throw in altitude and stronger pot that could be a factor as well.
 
jnos said:
Sounds like the Maureen Dowd (journalist) story when she went to Colorado, ate too much of a pot cookie and freaked out.

http://www.thecannabist.co/2014/09/21/maureen-dowd-willie-nelson-marijuana/20005/

This link is a story of her discussing it with Willie Nelson on his bus.
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Not much into pot, did get a contact high with my brother, damn that felt good! My two daughters were into the bar & blues thing while living in Austin, TX years ago, both smoked it all the time. Never had any problems until moving to Oregon. The oldest, wiser daughter made brownies for her & her friends. Youngest daughter came over, wanted to try one. The sage warned her that ingesting is different that smoking one. Slower to get into her system. Youngest, too impatient ate a second 30 minutes later, ended up at the ER. rambling, paranoid & wiser.
 
Shalimar said:
After considerable experience dealing with people suffering from various forms of substance abuse, I have found pot to have far less deleterious affects on a person's mind or body, and at worst a negligible risk of any dependence, when compared with

any of the proven addictive substances, legal or otherwise. This includes everything from alcohol, prescription drugs, to dangerous hard drugs, and tobacco.
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It might be one of the less dangerous substances out there per say but like other stuff it affects the person. I know hard charging short tempered drinkers who started using pot regularly and it did not mellow them out. They became even more emotional and their drinking did not subside. That's not to say there are other problems but when one's thinking is impaired they won't mature or develop the ability to deal with anything unintoxicated.
 
Don you are right. In Prohibition alcohol wasn't called 'bathtub gin' for no reason. With no regulations people were making concoctions out of whatever was the cheapest and easiest way to produce the drink. Many people died from alcohol poisoning, went blind, and ended up with physical disabilities. Not even speaking of the addiction, and the pain it caused in many homes.

My doctor started me om MJ 46 years ago, and I was able to stop taking anti-depressants, and the drugs they kept trying to put me on because I was so hyperactive. Now those were "drugs". Smoking helps me keep me balanced, and most people that have smoked for long periods of time don't get "high" like those that are social smokers. That part was gone within the first three years of my smoking. Quiting cigarettes, (that are legal), was the worst addiction I ever had, and I quit those bank in '85.
 
How did you manage to find a doctor that would suggest pot Ina? Forty six years ago was almost still the era of 'Reefer Madness' myths. Was your doctor a time traveller who came back just to help you?
 
No, he was actually in his late fifties, and had been my doctor for several year. I had a heart murmur, was hyperactive, and I had been dealing with the pain of breaking my back at nine. At 18, my doctor deemed me an adult, (although I already had two children), and of legal age for a female.

I didn't ask where the smoke came from, but he provide it for me for more than two years. It has saved me from the yoyoing of the drugs in the '70's and forward.
 
Well, according to that article, the amount of visits attributable to MJ have gone up to 168 per 10,000 visits -- not exactly an epidemic. I wonder how those numbers compare to the visits attributable to alcohol use. Also, I note that most of the MJ visits are GI distress, etc., whereas, here at least, most alcohol related visits are serious injuries and/or death from alcohol fueled violent confrontations, car crashes and so on.

Alcohol is a much more dangerous drug than MJ ever was or will be, and alcohol ruins more lives than MJ ever did or will .. despite what the "reefer madness" nuts think.
 
From the Denver Post article linked above, showing this study, like many "studies" on various topics is obviously biased and agenda driven:

The study, which appears in the New England Journal of Medicine on Feb. 25, found that the number of marijuana-related emergency room visits to the University of Colorado Hospital doubled among those from out-of-state from 2013 to 2014, while remaining steady for residents.

The study can't positively peg marijuana use as the cause of the visit, said Andrew Monte, assistant professor of emergency medicine and toxicology at the CU School of Medicine.

"Realistically, these visits could have marijuana mentioned at one point if they came and had a heart attack and said they did smoke a week ago, that would be reflected," Monte said.
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I will say as one of the links mentioned statistics like this in combination with driving while intoxicated statistics shows that otc pot might need more regulation as to content/strength or even availability.
 
WhatInThe said:
I will say as one of the links mentioned statistics like this in combination with driving while intoxicated statistics shows that otc pot might need more regulation as to content/strength or even availability.
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What we don't need is more government regulation of everything we do. How about, instead of that, people take responsibility and watch what they are doing?? What an idea!

Tourists ending up in the hospital with tummy upsets because of MJ isn't exactly a calamity or reason for hysteria. As SB says above, the MJ use would be noted no matter what the reason for admission. And before it was legal to use, most people wouldn't have mentioned using it -- now they do, because it's legal to use. I don't see why this story even made the news at all -- it's just to inflame people's unreasonable fears that MJ is a terrible evil, which just isn't true. Some people are still hysterical because MJ is (GASP!) legal in some places.

Besides which, we regulate the heck out of alcohol, and it is still responsible for more deaths, injuries, ruined lives -- you name it. Government regulation of everything we opt to do in our lives isn't the answer.
 
Butterfly said:
What we don't need is more government regulation of everything we do. How about, instead of that, people take responsibility and watch what they are doing?? What an idea!

Tourists ending up in the hospital with tummy upsets because of MJ isn't exactly a calamity or reason for hysteria. As SB says above, the MJ use would be noted no matter what the reason for admission. And before it was legal to use, most people wouldn't have mentioned using it -- now they do, because it's legal to use. I don't see why this story even made the news at all -- it's just to inflame people's unreasonable fears that MJ is a terrible evil, which just isn't true. Some people are still hysterical because MJ is (GASP!) legal in some places.

Besides which, we regulate the heck out of alcohol, and it is still responsible for more deaths, injuries, ruined lives -- you name it. Government regulation of everything we opt to do in our lives isn't the answer.
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Well said.

What about cigarettes? One of the deadliest vices out there, yet they are totally legal, highly regulated yet you can find 8-year-olds puffing away everywhere you go. Sure, they pulled the TV advertising, but everywhere else they're touting the Marlboro Man or how feminine your throat cancer can be.

Hypocrites.

Unfortunately, people being people, they will never take responsibility for what they do.
 
WhatInThe said:
I will say as one of the links mentioned statistics like this in combination with driving while intoxicated statistics shows that otc pot might need more regulation as to content/strength or even availability.
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I'd rather have someone who just smoked pot driving on the highway next to me than some idiot texting on their cellphone, or somebody who just kicked back 5 beers, or somebody who just popped their daily mind-altering pharmaceutical prescription pill for anxiety or depression, etc., etc.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I'd rather have someone who just smoked pot driving on the highway next to me than some idiot texting on their cellphone, or somebody who just kicked back 5 beers, or somebody who just popped their daily mind-altering pharmaceutical prescription pill for anxiety or depression, etc., etc.
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Absolutely! But just the same, I'm not getting behind the wheel under the influence of anything. My days of driving stoned, though few in number, are far behind me.
 

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