The conclusions of the coroner are an insult to common sense, to the medical profession, to the scientific community and most of all to the boy's family. This is politically-motivated junk science at its most appalling.
Cannabis is among the least toxic substances known to man and has never killed ANYONE in its 10,000 year history with the human race. Even if that were not true, there were NO DRUGS in his system. Apparently the coroner believes marijuana has the magic power to harm people who are NOT using it! It's true that harder drugs (not marijuana) can inflame the heart, but even they have to actually be present in the system to do that. It's also true that long-term use of narcotics (not marijuana) can cause cumulative heart damage. But it's impossible to believe that someone only 17 years of age could have possibly ingested enough hard drugs in his short life to cause enough cumulative damage to cause fatal myocarditis (inflammation of the heart) unless he had a very serious pre-existing heart condition.
This young man had a heart attack two years ago at just 15. He was clearly among the unfortunate few who are simply born with a defective heart.
It's obvious the coroner decided to use this tragic loss of life as an excuse to push a private political agenda. If Gardner had died while actually smoking cannabis, it would be still be ludicrous to suggest that cannabis killed him. By the coroner's logic, virtually any death can now be ruled to be the result of cannabis. Anyone who dies with cannabis NOT in their system was killed by cannabis. Wow.
The coroner's irrational bias against cannabis consumers is evident in his comment: "despite his turbulent past and cannabis use, he had got a job..."It's clear the coroner believes pot smokers are incapable of holding jobs, that they are lazy, delinquent sub-humans. Nothing could be further form the truth; cannabis smokers are normal, productive members of society. He also used the word "toxic" in reference to cannabis, which shows he's operating under the influence of serious paranoia and ignorance when it comes to this subject (cannabis is at least 8000 times less toxic than alcohol). I'm guessing it bothers the coroner when people point out that cannabis has never killed anyone, so he decided to try to change that.
Cannabis did not kill Adrian Gardner, but if it had he would be its first victim in the history of humanity. By contrast, alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs are among society's leading causes of death. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) kills hundreds each year. Yet, somehow, cannabis is considered so dangerous that it warrants imprisoning those who use it. Cannabis prohibition is naked, revolting hypocrisy. It is a witch hunt and history will not judge it kindly.
If the coroner is seriously contending that he stumbled upon the first recorded case of cannabis poisoning in history, then this highly extraordinary claim needs to be validated by his peers. His conclusions lack even circumstantial suggestiveness, much less causal proof.
I'm shocked that MEN would convey this stupidity without taking the coroner to task. The media is supposed to be a watchdog. This is a clear case of a public official lying and abusing his position to push an ideologically-motivated agenda.
Cannabis is among the least toxic substances known to man and has never killed ANYONE in its 10,000 year history with the human race. Even if that were not true, there were NO DRUGS in his system. Apparently the coroner believes marijuana has the magic power to harm people who are NOT using it! It's true that harder drugs (not marijuana) can inflame the heart, but even they have to actually be present in the system to do that. It's also true that long-term use of narcotics (not marijuana) can cause cumulative heart damage. But it's impossible to believe that someone only 17 years of age could have possibly ingested enough hard drugs in his short life to cause enough cumulative damage to cause fatal myocarditis (inflammation of the heart) unless he had a very serious pre-existing heart condition.
This young man had a heart attack two years ago at just 15. He was clearly among the unfortunate few who are simply born with a defective heart.
It's obvious the coroner decided to use this tragic loss of life as an excuse to push a private political agenda. If Gardner had died while actually smoking cannabis, it would be still be ludicrous to suggest that cannabis killed him. By the coroner's logic, virtually any death can now be ruled to be the result of cannabis. Anyone who dies with cannabis NOT in their system was killed by cannabis. Wow.
The coroner's irrational bias against cannabis consumers is evident in his comment: "despite his turbulent past and cannabis use, he had got a job..."It's clear the coroner believes pot smokers are incapable of holding jobs, that they are lazy, delinquent sub-humans. Nothing could be further form the truth; cannabis smokers are normal, productive members of society. He also used the word "toxic" in reference to cannabis, which shows he's operating under the influence of serious paranoia and ignorance when it comes to this subject (cannabis is at least 8000 times less toxic than alcohol). I'm guessing it bothers the coroner when people point out that cannabis has never killed anyone, so he decided to try to change that.
Cannabis did not kill Adrian Gardner, but if it had he would be its first victim in the history of humanity. By contrast, alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs are among society's leading causes of death. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) kills hundreds each year. Yet, somehow, cannabis is considered so dangerous that it warrants imprisoning those who use it. Cannabis prohibition is naked, revolting hypocrisy. It is a witch hunt and history will not judge it kindly.
If the coroner is seriously contending that he stumbled upon the first recorded case of cannabis poisoning in history, then this highly extraordinary claim needs to be validated by his peers. His conclusions lack even circumstantial suggestiveness, much less causal proof.
I'm shocked that MEN would convey this stupidity without taking the coroner to task. The media is supposed to be a watchdog. This is a clear case of a public official lying and abusing his position to push an ideologically-motivated agenda.