Pubdate: Thu, 25 Feb 2016
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2016 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Authors: Tom McGhee and Natalie Munio

POT SENDS MORE TOURISTS TO ERS

A Study Says the Rate Doubled From 2013 to 2014 but Locals' Visits 
Remained Steady.

Visitors to Colorado are turning up at emergency rooms with 
marijuana-related issues in higher rates than people who live here, 
according to a study by the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

The study, in the current New England Journal of Medicine, found 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 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.

Visitors to University of Colorado Hospital from outside the state 
with marijuana complaints climbed from 85 per 10,000 visits in 2013, 
to 168 per 10,000 in 2014, the first year of retail marijuana sales 
in the state, the study found.

During the same period, visits by residents didn't change 
significantly, going from 106 per 10,000 visits in 2013 to 112 in 2014.

The most common complaints sending users to the emergency department 
were gastrointestinal, followed by psychiatric and cardiopulmonary 
problems. Monte said marijuana use can exacerbate an existing medical 
condition, and that explains many of the cases.

Mason Tvert of the marijuana advocacy organization Safer Alternative 
for Enjoyable Recreation said there are questions that remain 
unanswered, one of which speaks to a trait unique to in-state users- 
altitude acclimation.

"The number one difference between someone visiting and using 
marijuana and someone who lives here and using marijuana is that the 
person visiting has just gone to a much higher altitude. And we know 
that's attributed to a bunch of symptoms like passing out and nausea."

While some of those who needed emergency care after taking edibles or 
smoking weed came to Colorado specifically to get high legally, 
others came for business or other reasons.

The study also analyzed numbers from the Colorado Hospital 
Association for visits to emergency rooms statewide. Those numbers 
showed a similar growth rate among people not from Colorado. 
Out-of-staters with marijuana complaints went from 78 per 10,000 
visits in 2012 to 112 per 10,000 visits in 2013 to 163 per 10,000 
visits in 2014.

Colorado residents had numbers of 70 to 86 to 101, respectively.
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