Contaminated Marijuana: An Opioid Overdose With Pot

Cannabis contaminated with opioids and capable of causing death would circulate in Montreal. Public Health and experts are very concerned after an overdose and the respiratory arrest of a victim.

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According to the Direction régionale de santé publique de Montréal (DRSP), the person showed signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose with respiratory arrest. She had to receive several doses of naloxone, an antidote, and was hospitalized.

The event occurred after illegal pot sold on the black market in the form of a greenish/brownish colored pot was smoked.

“It is possible that street cannabis in circulation is contaminated with opioids. Opioids are associated with high risks of death, especially among consumers who could be exposed without their knowledge, “said the DRSP in a statement on Friday, which launched an investigation.

Always a risk

“I always run a risk when I buy on an illicit market. I can’t trust my pushhe doesn’t know what’s in the substance I’m buying either,” illustrates Anne Elizabeth Lapointe, executive director of the Quebec Center for Addictions.

This is an exceptional case, adds the professor of psychosocial maladjustment and drug addiction at the University of Montreal Jean-Sébastien Fallu.

“It is very well documented that there is [de la marijuana] contaminated, not with opioids, but for example with mold, large quantities of chemical fertilizers, heavy metals, insecticides, ”he lists.

However, according to the 2021 Quebec Cannabis Survey, the proportion of consumers obtaining pot from an illegal supplier fell from 32% in 2018 to 11% last year.

Of stock disturbing

The fact remains that the past few weeks have raised concerns among stakeholders.

At the end of April, Montreal Public Health warned that fentanyl could be found in crack. More recently, The newspaper reported that cocaine cut with cathinones, also called “bath salts”, had been circulating for a few weeks in the Quebec metropolis.

More supervision required

This is a reminder of the importance of better regulating these substances by legalizing them and ensuring a safer supply, insists Mr. Fallu.

For me^me Lapointe, also general manager of Maison Jean Lapointe, more tools must be available to test drugs before consuming them.

“More than ever, we have to be careful,” she argues.

– With QMI Agency

Symptoms of an Opioid Overdose

• Significant drowsiness
• Snoring
• Miosis (contracted pupils)
• Breathing difficulties
• Cyanosis (bluish lips and fingernails)

These symptoms are likely to progress to cardio-respiratory arrest.

Source: Montreal Regional Public Health Department