Postmortem THC in decedents following legalization of recreational cannabis in Clark County, Nevada.
Cannabis
cannabinoids
marijuana
postmortem
recreational legalization
tetrahydrocannabinol
toxicology
Journal
Journal of forensic sciences
ISSN: 1556-4029
Titre abrégé: J Forensic Sci
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 0375370
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Jul 2022
Jul 2022
Historique:
revised:
08
03
2022
received:
24
11
2021
accepted:
12
04
2022
pubmed:
26
4
2022
medline:
6
7
2022
entrez:
25
4
2022
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Marijuana is the most prevalent illicit substance used globally. With increasing US legalizing recreational marijuana, more evidence is vital to minimize potential health risks. This study was conducted to test several hypotheses regarding postmortem THC/COOH-THC in decedents before and after legalization of recreational marijuana in Nevada. We also compared presence of THC/COOH-THC in decedents with respect to manner of death as recorded by the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner. THC/COOH-THC concentrations for years 2015-2016 (pre-legalization) and 2017-2019 (post-legalization) were compared through an independent samples t-test and chi-square tests. A binary logistic regression was used to compare the presence of THC/COOH-THC with covariates: age, gender, race, and manner of death. The average concentration of THC/COOH-THC detected per decedent did not significantly differ before and after recreational legalization, whereas the proportion of decedents testing positive for THC showed a small but significant increase following legalization although no significant change in COOH-THC was detected. The likelihood of testing positive for THC/COOH-THC decreased as age increased. Sex, race, and manner of death were all associated with the relative risk of presence of THC/COOH-THC in toxicology reports. An increase in proportion of users but not in concentration of THC/COOH-THC was observed after legalization. The results are generally consistent with national reports and suggest toxicology data from decedents is a valuable method for surveying marijuana use by the general public. The early adoption of recreational marijuana by neighboring states may have precluded any major changes in use following legalization in Nevada.
Identifiants
pubmed: 35467020
doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.15047
doi:
Substances chimiques
Analgesics
0
Hallucinogens
0
Dronabinol
7J8897W37S
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
1632-1639Subventions
Organisme : U.S. Department of Education
ID : P382B160008
Informations de copyright
© 2022 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
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