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… Read more »