BLOWING SMOKE

In Wake of Major Pot Bust, Local Hospitals Say They Haven't Seen the
So-Called Marijuana "Overdoses."

When police seized more than $1.4 million in drugs from a City Avenue
penthouse last week, they boasted about the 16 pounds of a potent
marijuana strain known as "AK47" that, according to Narcotics Chief
Inspector William Blackburn, put people in the emergency room with
overdoses.

There were two reactions to the claim, which was regurgitated with
little apparent scrutiny by the local media. From nonsmokers: It's
great that police got such a large amount of a dangerous drug off our
streets, big step for the war on drugs. From pot smokers: Hold on man,
overdoses? On weed? Did they eat too many Cheetos or something?

Yes, as police stacked hash bricks for a "look at all the drugs we
confiscated" photo op that would make the people at High Times
magazine jealous, there still seemed to be a longstanding disconnect -
between those who smoke it and those who still target weed offenses as
they would cocaine and heroin - on just how dangerous marijuana is.

Blackburn's claim, which is to be expected in a high-profile bust like
this, seems to reek of traditional war-on-drugs scare tactics. No
matter how potent the strain, can AK47 really land people in emergency
rooms when regular weed rarely does?

Of the hospitals City Paper contacted - Jefferson, St. Joseph's and
Penn - none have recorded any cases of marijuana overdose within the
past few months. There are people treated for the effects of
marijuana, which, according to Jefferson toxicologist Paul Kolecki,
are limited to increased heart rate and panic attacks, but overdoses
are basically impossible.

"If there was a more potent or concentrated marijuana, it could cause
maybe more hallucinations or agitation or maybe more increase in your
heart rate," Kolecki says. "But I haven't heard of any major physical
complications from it."

Not surprisingly, Steven Hager, editor in chief of High Times,
questions the validity of the strain's supposed potency.

"A person would have to consume 15 pounds of marijuana in 15 minutes
to obtain a lethal dose," Hager says. "Nobody in the history of the
world will ever consume that in one sitting. There has never been an
overdose death on marijuana in the history of the world."

Hager touts the AK47 strain for the awards it won at the Cannabis Cup
- - the so-called Oscars of weed. The Hager-founded competition is held
annually in Amsterdam. The strain has won eight awards at the Cup and
was named High Times "Plant of the Year" in 2003, but Hager says it
was recognized not for its potency, but for its superior taste and
unique breed (the breeder, a man known only as Simon from Serious
Seeds in Amsterdam, has kept the pedigree a secret). However, an
independent lab test done in 1999 showed a 21.5 percent THC level for
AK47, the highest of all Cannabis Cup entries that year, so perhaps
Hager's veteran tolerance is doing most of the talking. (Marijuana's
potency is measured by its percentage of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.)

The plant is not as rare as Blackburn, who could not be reached for
comment for this article, would have the public believe. Ranging from
$20 to $30 per seed, it is easily available online (well, not for
shipment in the U.S.) and is the No. 6 top seller on renowned online
weed source Planet Skunk. In the case of the local bust, Blackburn
told the Inquirer the marijuana was smuggled through Canada,
originally via South America, but the avenues of original purchase are
not too complicated.

It probably doesn't take a pot-induced conspiracy theory to see why
police would want the public to think the streets are much safer as a
result of the raid. Even though the product was being distributed
mostly to wealthy Main Line smokers, a raid of this size, of a top
brand of weed, is still a result of a monthlong Narcotics Field Unit
investigation complete with undercover buys and extensive
surveillance.

The implication being that the time, money and manpower being put into
the "war on drugs"- in a city decimated by cocaine, heroin and the
violence that comes with it - is not going to waste. But both Hager
and local activist Ed "NJ Weedman" Forchion have worked to dispel
government "propaganda" regarding their drug of choice. Both say it's
easy to cook the numbers regarding marijuana's danger because patients
who are admitted to the emergency room and have smoked in the past
month can fail a drug test.

"Think about how many people overdose on regular prescription or
over-the-counter medication," Hager says. "It's like a 747 going down
every week, but nobody hears about because it's this billion-dollar
industry."

Adds Forchion, "For people to say that marijuana is dangerous is as
idiotic as saying the world is flat. The only ones who believe pot is
dangerous are idiots, fools, preachers and politicians."