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Just as America ’s stash of black - market Four Loko dwindles , a new contour of intoxicate washing soda has risen like a phoenix from its ashes : pot - laced soda . But while Four Loko has been call in amid reports of intoxicant poisoning and accidental death , the worst side event of overdo it with marijuana soda might just be a really sorry tummy ache .
California - based enterpriser Clay Butler has produce a line of cannabis soft drinks that will hit the ledge ofmedical marijuanadispensaries in Colorado in February and California in the saltation . Each 12 - Panthera uncia beverage — which will come in such miscellanea as Canna Cola , Doc Weed and Orange Kush — will contain 35 to 65 milligrams of the psychoactive component in marijuana , THC ( THC ) .
But how much is that equate with , say , the amount of the drug in a ganja spliff ? And how does Canna Cola ’s intoxicate effects stand up to Four Loko ?
According to a report by the World Health Organization , a distinctive marijuana joint may contain anywhere from 5 to 150 mg of THC , and only a fraction of that — “ 2 or 3 mg — is required to produce a brief , pleasurable in high spirits for the episodic user . " On the other hand , " expectant users in Jamaica , for example , may consume up to 420 mg of THC per day . " This means the drug subject of a Canna Cola , though a simple mid - morning bite for a Rastafarian , is 10 to 30 time that required to get most people high .
Joshua Lile , a pharmacologist in the department of behavioral science at the University of Kentucky who studies drug addiction , say the dose in a Canna Cola is indeed quite high , and that it might be even high than it seems when liken to a join .
" When you take in THC by word of mouth , it ’s much more potent than when you smoke it , " Lile separate Life ’s Little Mysteries . " Active metabolites such as 11 - hydroxy - delta-9 THC get farm in the liver and intestines when you metabolize the drug , and these add to the effect it has on the brain . " Few study have ever used more than 30 mg of orally administered THC , make the 35 - 65 mg in a Canna Cola " a middling in high spirits dot for a undivided beverage . "
However , Lile explain that this does n’t inevitably mean the locoweed sodas are dangerous : " tetrahydrocannabinol exhibits what ’s known as a ' flat acid consequence curve ' . Once you attain a prime dose you do n’t see much alteration in how high people become . For instance , I ’ve administered up to 90 mg of THC to study issue . Some get sick to their belly at around 30 mg , but experienced marijuana substance abuser can palm much more . "
Rather than becoming super eminent , then , a Canna Cola - drinker may just be in danger of becoming really sick to his stomach . " The effects of orally ingested marijuana take a while to set in , " Lile said . " You may drink one , then be sit around waiting for something to befall and then decide to drink another one . calculate on your absorption point ( which varies a pot between hoi polloi ) , you could experience really nauseated . "
This is not the worst - pillow slip scenario , however , that result from drinking too much of the alcohol-dependent vigour drink Four Loko . Until its manufacturers settle to re - forge the beverage last November in response to an FDA monition , each 23.5 - oz. can of Four Loko check 12 percentage alcohol by loudness and 135 mg of caffeine . That made drink one can roughly the eq of downing four regular beer and a big coffee , all hidden behind a fruity taste sensation . Several state banned sales of the beverage after its frequent amour in typeface ofalcohol toxic condition and death on college campus .
Lile allege , " In general , if you ’re going to compare the two , execution handicap are less grievous from cannabis than they are from alcohol . "
