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When Can Ingesting Cannabis Lead to Death

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Therefore

In the newspapers today, you can read about youngsters in CA who are dying from unregulated cannabis. There are over 207 pages of cannabis regulations in the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC). In addition, there are regulations promulgated by counties and cities. So why are youngsters under the age of 21 ingesting unregulated cannabis when it is prohibited?

There are 708 chapters and 707 pages in the 2022 Alcohol and Beverage ACT in CA, yet alcohol is available in every corner store, every big box outlet, every Rite Aid, and every restaurant in CA. Eleven percent of entering college students are already heavy drinkers leading to nearly 2,000 student deaths each year. So why isn’t the journalist talking about how youngsters die of alcohol ingestion? Why are colleges prohibited from teaching the science of cannabis, yet any business is allowed to obtain a liquor license?

Deaths From Plant Cannabis Nonexistent

The defining reason NC do not kill mammals as opposed to alcohol is there are NO, NONE, ZERO receptors for THC in the brain stem which controls breathing. Therefore there is not a single death from cannabis consumption by anyone, any age, anywhere in the world, ever. That is a fact. What allows the public and media to denigrate a natural plant that God made to mimic the biology of living mammals? Poor research? Government lies? Pharmaceutical influence? Alcohol commercials? Fifty percent of the commercials on my football channel are telling me how cool it is to drink alcohol. Children watch this. Are the parents telling children that alcohol kills? I doubt it.

Endocannabinoid System

So, what is the science that tells us alcohol kills yet cannabis does not? The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is the science. The ECS has millions of receptors all over the body for cannabis, more than any other chemical in the body. This abundance of receptors for the plant cannabinoids, cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), anandamide, and 2-AG are the exact replicas of the natural cannabinoids we make. The erroneous comparison between natural cannabinoids (NC) and synthetic cannabinoids (SyC) is what makes people believe cannabis kills. How do synthetics differ from plants?

Synthetic (LAB) Cannabinoids

First, SyC act on the same brain cell receptors (CB1 and CB2) as THC. The caveat to this Scenario is two very important principles. Synthetics that are made in the lab are a major lethal difference between the THC and CBD in the plant.

Human-made mind-altering chemicals that are either sprayed on dried, shredded plant material are SyC. This herbal or liquid incense is sold as liquids to be vaporized and inhaled in e-cigarettes or other devices. Manufacturers sell these products in colorful foil packages and plastic bottles to attract consumers, especially teenagers. Hundreds of brands have been around for years and are packaged as K2, Spice, Joker, Black Mamba, Kush, and Kronic.

Second,  NC like the plant cannabidiol (CBD) and Δ9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are partial agonists. But SyC are full agonists. A full agonist is when the drug locks onto a receptor completely so receptors are not simply off-on switches. They are more like light bulbs on a dimmer switch. A full agonist will crank on the receptor to its full level of “brightness” which is not possible with THC. The black-market SYC are full agonists causing medical emergencies, including adverse cardiovascular events, stroke, and death.

Third, unbeknownst to the user, deaths occur when dangerous synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl, are added to the packaged mixture. Thus, these alternative core structures are technically legal – or at least not explicitly illegal. One of the seven small classes of molecules designed expressly to evade legislation passed in China in July of 2021 is called OXIZID cannabinoids,

Prohibition creates a market for completely unheard-of drugs that are talked about as marijuana-like. Lazy journalists cause a sensation by inflating a mother’s grief without the scientific nuance of synthetic cannabinoids.

previously published in https://coachellavalleyweekly.com/when-can-ingesting-cannabis-lead-to-death/

Waste: A Cannabis Industry Fiasco

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The cannabis industry has a waste problem that is mainly due to the public treatment of the compound delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Because of THC, no cannabis product can touch anything in the waste. Thank your legislators for this environmental debacle. The law mandates every product no matter how small the item will need a large label that includes a health warning, identification numbers, soil, and other crop production inputs, as well as testing information and cannabinoid composition. It is estimated that one gram of weed can produce 100 grams of packaging waste. Is that the same information on a cigarette package? No of course not.

To open a preroll, I first, tear off the clear plastic cover that seals the cap. Remember it is child-resistant. I sometimes need a knife or scissors to loosen the machine-sealed barrier. To open the tube, my hands do not have the strength to squeeze the tube, I place the tube on the table edge and lean on it to force the cap open. These tubes are made of durable plastic that will not be crushed even if I run over them with my KIA. (my humble opinion)

It is appalling how much packaging is used to sell a few legal buds. A Canadian Broadcasting Company report suggested that a gram of weed sold at a licensed storefront in Canada can produce close to 100 grams of packaging waste.

Thirty-three and a half million units of cannabis prerolls were sold in California in 2020. California Cannabis Regulations require all cannabis products to be individually wrapped to meet child-resistant criteria. To date only one cannabis producer, CannaCraft has received child-resistant certification eliminating millions of single-use plastic tubes.

“With each plastic tube standing 5.5″ tall, 1 years’ worth of CannaCraft’s child-resistant tubes would reach over 900,000 feet if stacked. Or 30 times taller than Mount Everest. That’s a lot of waste that we’ll be eliminating,” says a CannaCraft representative.

Whether it is the solvents used in the manufacturing process, the leftover biomass that accumulates which must be destroyed, or the extra packaging required to make products impossible for a child (or an otherwise competent stoner) to open, legal cannabis creates tons of waste.

Regulators continue to demand every bit of biomass disposed of must be processed yet prohibit recycling with the belief that cannabis is a dangerous organic material. In Illinois, a cannabis waste producer must notify the agriculture department, the state police, and an employee must be present to supervise the disposal. What kind of nonsense is this, treating cannabis waste as radioactive?

In the meantime, the waste accumulates. One solution by Sana Packaging is using 100% plant-based hemp plastic, 100% reclaimed ocean plastic, and other non-petroleum-based materials to create a closed-loop business model that generates no waste.

TerraCycle, from New Jersey, developed a national recycling program for vape cartridges however many states prohibit recycling cannabis. The scope of the recycling problem is difficult to assess. Many places do not track cannabis waste recycling. California has three different agencies. In Canada, they do not track it at all.

Some producers tried to have a bring-back program for vape cartridges, but the misguided regulations made the proposal unfeasible. California tried to address single-use packaging for the tobacco vape industry, but it has gone nowhere. (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB424)

Three innovated dispensaries have launched a first-of-its-kind recycling program in which cannabis packaging will be converted into fuel to help power delivery vehicles. Airfield Supply Co., a San Jose storefront is the first dispensary to sign on for the pilot program that could prevent as many as 5,000 plastic items from entering the state’s waste stream each day. CannaCraft, a Sonoma County manufacturer, and Resynergi, a Sonoma County company that converts plastics into oils, are partners in the program.

The aim is to place Resynergi, recycling bins throughout its facilities and to also provide customers with special “exit bags” they can use to store their plastics ahead of recycling. The industry is succeeding, hopefully, the legislators will begin to evaluate cannabis as an herb rather than a radioactive substance.

Published on June 16, 2021