Abstract
Cannabis legalization has led to significant health consequences, particularly to patients in emergency departments and hospitals in Colorado. The most concerning include psychosis, suicide, and other substance abuse. Deleterious effects on the brain include decrements in complex decision-making, which may not be reversible with abstinence. Increases in fatal motor vehicle collisions, adverse effects on cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, inadvertent pediatric exposures, cannabis contaminants exposing users to infectious agents, heavy metals, and pesticides, and hash-oil burn injuries in preparation of drug concentrates have been documented. Cannabis dispensary workers (“budtenders”) without medical training are giving medical advice that may be harmful to patients. Cannabis research may offer novel treatment of seizures, spasticity from multiple sclerosis, nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, chronic pain, improvements in cardiovascular outcomes, and sleep disorders. Progress has been slow due to absent standards for chemical composition of cannabis products and limitations on research imposed by federal classification of cannabis as illegal. Given these factors and the Colorado experience, other states should carefully evaluate whether and how to decriminalize or legalize non-medical cannabis use.
Highlights
As of January 2018 in the United States, nine states have legalized cannabis for recreational use, with another 29 legalizing it for medical use
Cannabis legalization has led to significant health consequences, to patients in emergency departments and hospitals in Colorado
This corresponded with the Ogden memorandum issued in October 2009, which instructed U.S Attorneys not to “focus federal resources in your States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.”[2]. The commercialization of medical marijuana followed and the number of patients registered with Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) increased dramatically from about 5000 in 2009 to almost 119,000 in 2011
Summary
Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health. Title Legalized Cannabis in Colorado Emergency Departments: A Cautionary Review of Negative Health and Safety Effects. Journal Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, 20(4)
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