The synthetic cannabinoid / brodifacoum outbreak with Dr. Steve Aks
Join Dan (@drusyniak) &Howard (@heshiegreshie) as they chat with Dr. Steve Aks as they talk about one of the more concerning toxicologic outbreaks in recent memory – the exposure to brodifacoum through synthetic cannabinoid use. Although still ongoing, this crisis highlights the importance of teamwork and collaboration.
Delicious Links
- From the Department of Health in Illinois – synthetic cannabinoids.
- A brief discussion of this very topic from Leon Gussow.
- Not the first problem associated with the synthetic cannabinoids. From the archive, Zombie Day in NYC.
- The emerging threat of superwarfarins: history, detection, mechanisms, and countermeasures.
- A case of brodifacoum intoxication with marijuana smoking.
- And if that wasn’t good enough, a case of severe coagulopathy as a consequence of smoking crack cocaine laced with rodenticide.
- Why is vitamin K so expensive? Rattled by drug price increases, hospitals seek ways to stay on guard.
- Why don’t we worry about kids with unintentional exposures to brodifacoum?
- From the Illinois Poison Center on the dangers of “Fake Weed” on NPR.
- Who was Wally Pipp? Why is Steve the “Wally Pipp” of the Dantastic Tox? That’s an answer for over a few drinks . . .
- Where have you gone, McGruff the Crime Dog?
Special Thanks
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+1 vote for the evil theory. I find it difficult to believe that the brodifacoum was applied accidentally given the extremely low solubility in water (<0.01 mg/ml). This makes it highly unlikely that a toxic dose of the compound could have been inadvertently applied to a living plant via an aqueous solution and taken up into or dried on top of the plant prior to harvest. It seems much more likely that a relatively pure form of powder was dissolved in an organic solvent of some sort (probably acetone) and sprayed onto the plant matter. This is how the synthetic cannabinoids are applied to the plant matter, so it's possible the raw cannabinoid powder was contaminated with brodifacoum prior to application. Brodifacoum and most synthetic cannabinoids are soluble enough in acetone that it would likely be impossible to notice a difference during their application if the raw cannabinoid powder was adulterated with brodifacoum. Given that the vast majority of the compounds come from China via a black/grey market, the possibility of a mix up in some amateurish underground Chinese lab is always there, but it seems fairly unlikely given how remarkably different the chemical structures are. Unless some lab wasn't… Read more »