Marijuana smokers were poisoned with lead by cheating drug sellers trying to make more money. Illegal trades conducting more illegal methods of making profits. New England Journal of Medicine has a descriptive report with data tables and slides.
But the following, a portion of an easy more readable report from Wall Street Journal;
The poisoning was widely reported by German newspapers and television, and an anonymous lead-screening program was set up for marijuana users. Among 145 people who showed up for testing, 95 more cases were found.
The authorities do not know where the tainted marijuana came from or why the lead was added, but the German police suspect that it was done to make money. The samples tested contained 10 percent lead by weight, which translates into an increased profit of about $682 per pound of marijuana.
The patients are recovering and taking medicines called chelating agents to help remove the lead from their bodies. But it could take years to clear it completely, particularly from bones. And some were quite disillusioned to learn that poison was added to what they thought was a pure, all-natural product, said their doctor, Prof. Michael Stumvoll of University Hospital in Leipzig, who commented, “How naïve!”
tag: Lead Poisoning, lead tainted marijuana, marijuana
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