Cannabis misinterpretation and misadventure in a coroner's court.
Tormey, William Patrick
Tormey, William Patrick
Authors
Advisors
Editors
Other Contributors
Date
2012-10
Date Submitted
Keywords
Other Subjects
Subject Mesh
Adult
Coronary Occlusion
Death, Sudden
Forensic Pathology
Humans
Male
Marijuana Smoking
Smoking
Tetrahydrocannabinol
Time Factors
Coronary Occlusion
Death, Sudden
Forensic Pathology
Humans
Male
Marijuana Smoking
Smoking
Tetrahydrocannabinol
Time Factors
Planned Date
Start Date
Collaborators
Principal Investigators
Alternative Titles
Publisher
Abstract
A 37-year-old, one-pack-per-day tobacco smoker collapsed and died at home. At autopsy, he had an occluded left anterior descending coronary artery. Δ(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol-carboxylic acid was found in his urine but no cannabinoids were detected in his blood. Misadventure was the inquest verdict on the basis of the urinary cannabis, with acute myocardial infarction as the primary cause and cannabis as the secondary cause of death. Such a conclusion is a misinterpretation of the evidence when the time duration for cannabis as a trigger for myocardial infarction is at most two hours. The absence of cannabis in the blood likely places the time since inhalation at more than two hours. The role of tobacco smoking as a trigger was ignored. Cotinine, the biochemical marker of tobacco smoke, should be added to the standard toxicological screen in the guidelines on autopsy practice of the Royal College of Pathologists.
Language
en
ISSN
0025-8024
eISSN
ISBN
DOI
10.1258/msl.2011.011087
PMID
23155125