There’s been a lot of talk in the media about cannabis “overdoses” at public events like 420. This language, particularly as we face a continent wide opioid crisis, is entirely irresponsible.

An overdose is serious and tragic. People die from overdoses. While, “greening out” can be a very unpleasant consequence of over-consumption, nobody dies from cannabis use.

In fact, to quote Judge Francis L. Young’s 1988 report:

“At present it is estimated that marijuana’s LD-50 is around 1:20,000 or 1:40,000. In layman terms this means that in order to induce death a marijuana smoker would have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times as much marijuana as is contained in one marijuana cigarette. NIDA-supplied marijuana cigarettes weigh approximately .9 grams. A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response.”

“In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care.”

So, to summarize. No, it is not possible have a deadly overdose on natural cannabis alone, as its lethal dose level is extremely high, and ingesting 1,500 pounds of anything in 15 minutes would probably kill a person.

Now, if there’s someone out there working on a type of cannabis or product that will deliver hundreds or thousands of pounds’ worth of cannabis in a matter of minutes, an overdose could be possible. Until then, it seems unlikely, and I am not sure creating such a product is possible or even desirable.

See the original article at Cannabis Culture