In the News: Hoax Claiming ‘Marijuana overdoses kill 37 in Colorado’ Goes Viral

Apparently, someone wasn’t too happy about the legalization of marijuana in Colorado since there were allegations of deaths following the legalization. There was a story claiming that 37 people in Colorado overdosed on marijuana on the first day it was legal. The story stated that numerous people underwent cardiac arrest after smoking Marijuana and the number of deaths was verified by the Rocky Mountain News. The only problem with that is that the Rocky Mountain News has been out of business for 5 years.

The Daily Courant, the site that initially printed the story, is openly fake and the stories on it are fictional. The site says although the stories are not factual, they are intended to address actual issues going on in the world and have links to the real events going on. The story claimed that marijuana overdoses were taking place all over the state, and quoted a Dr. Jack Shepherd from Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center. “It’s complete chaos here,” the fake doctor said. “I’ve put five college students in body bags since breakfast and more are arriving every minute.”

This doctor stated that there were cardiac arrests, organ failures and multiple other issues going on that were causing the deaths. He even stated that by next week there could be a death total of 200 or more. While Dr. Jack Shepherd is a character from the TV show Lost, the Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center is real and they had to issue an explanation following the marijuana overdose story going viral. I understand that people are opposed to the legalization of marijuana but I think when you are going and making up stories that people are dying, you need to reevaluate your approach to the situation.

The sales of marijuana in Colorado topped $1 million on the first day and have expectations to reach $600 million in the first year of legalization. Due to these sales, it is a fear that marijuana addiction has the potential to grow. In my opinion, I think it is crazy that they legalized marijuana but the only difference between it being legal and illegal is that now they have records of how many people are buying it. People have always smoked pot, it just wasn’t a documented dollar amount of how many and how much was spent on it. I definitely agree that this can be very dangerous but I think that people are going to smoke whether it is legal or not.

I do believe that marijuana can be a gateway drug, though. For me and a lot of other recovering alcoholics and addicts that I know, it all started with smoking marijuana. Now that’s not to say that if marijuana was never in the picture that I wouldn’t of become an alcoholic or addict but it definitely was there throughout my using and addiction. There are those people who can just smoke pot and not have a problem with it, the people a lot of us refer to as ‘normies.’ Unlike normies, I am an addict and can’t just casually smoke weed but I don’t think there is anything wrong with the people who can and do. We are all ultimately going to do what we want anyways and for me, I want my recovery regardless of the legalization of marijuana or not. If you or a loved one are struggling with substance abuse or addiction, please call toll free 1-800-951-6135.

Sources:

http://dailycurrant.com/2014/01/02/marijuana-overdoses-kill-37-in-colorado-on-first-day-of-legalization/

http://www.inquisitr.com/1082985/marijuana-overdoses-hoax-story-claims-37-die-in-colorado/