DEATH FOLLOWING MARIJUANA INTAKE

On 12 January 1991, a very interesting case was brought to me. A 33 year old man Kanti was returning home after a party in his car when his Maruti car collided with another car. Besides Kanti there was another person in the car, a 37 year old male Ravindra. Kanti and Ravindra were friends and had gone to a friend's party. Both Kanti and Ravindra died immediately after the collision. The police arrested the driver of the other car, a person called Bhushan, for causing the death of two persons by rash and negligent driving. Bhushan swore that he was driving the car very carefully. In fact it was the other car which was swerving from left to right. It appeared to him that the driver of the other car had been drunk. But the police did not believe him as there was no smell of alcohol from either Kanti or Ravindra's mouth. If, as Bhushan was asserting, the driver of the other car Kanti was drunk, why was there no smell of alcohol from his mouth. The net effect of their conclusion was that Bhushan found himself behind the bars.

It was at this stage that the case was brought to me. When I searched the bodies of the two carefully, I found a strange looking contraption in the pockets of Kanti. Some other objects were also found in Kanti's and Ravindra's pockets. All the contents that were found in their pockets are revealed in figure 1 (please reproduce fig XX-27 on page 553 here). I immediately realized what must have happened. I called the investigating officer, and told him that Bhushan had been speaking the truth. The car must really be swerving from left to right as he had suggested. The police officer looked back at me in surprise and said,"But sir, you have hardly had a look at the body, let alone do an autopsy. How could you say that Bhushan is speaking the truth?"

"Well, it is my experience with marijuana deaths, my boy!", I said in smug confidence.

The readers may be surprised as to what strange objects I found in their pockets which let me make such quick and confident deductions. Well, before going any further, let me tell you a little bit about marijuana.

You must all be aware of the terms bhang, charas, hashish and ganja ? These substances are not different. They all come from various different parts of the same plant, called the Indian hemp (Please reproduce fig XX-26 on page 552 here). Botanically its name is Cannabis sativa.

More than 400 chemicals have been isolated from the cannabis plant. But the main chemical which is responsible for its pleasurable effects is called delta‑9‑tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. THC is found mainly in the leaves and the flowering tops of the plant.

The cannabis plant gives rise to several products with many of which we are quite familiar. Bhang consists of dried leaves and shoots. It is also known by the name of siddhi, patti or sabji. Among the objects recovered from Kanti and Ravindra's pockets was bhang (see upper left of fig 1). It may be used as such or as an infusion in the form of a beverage, which produces intoxication. The infusion is prepared by rubbing some dried cannabis leaves on a stone slab along with sugar and black pepper. It is than mixed with water and strained through a muslin cloth. This infusion is commonly known as thandai and is usually drunk in our country during the Holi festival.

Majun is a sort of confection prepared from bhang by treating it with sugar, flour, milk and butter. In India one can find barfis fortified with bhang. These are rather green coloured instead of the normal white. Sweetmeats like these are called majun.

Yet another product which comes from the cannabis plant is ganja. This has a rusty green colour and a characteristic odour. It comes from the flowering tops of female plants, which contains a very strong concentration of THC. While bhang contains only 1 to 2 per cent of THC, ganja may contain upto 5 per cent of THC. The same ganja is known as 'marijuana' or 'marihuana' in the West (both terms are acceptable and correct).

While bhang is eaten or drunk, ganja is smoked. About 1 to 2 gm of ganja is rubbed with a little water in the palm till it becomes sticky. It is then mixed with a little tobacco and is smoked in a pipe or chilam. In India sadhus, fakirs and poor laborers often smoke ganja as a form of recreation. In modern society, ganja is being smoked at parties too, especially those arranged and attended by the youth. As my investigations later revealed, both Kanti and Ravindra were coming back from such a party. They both had in fact been smoking marijuana.

Westerners smoke ganja (or marijuana as they know it) in cigarettes known as 'reefers' or 'joints'. A thin, special quality paper is taken and about 500 mg marijuana kept in it. It is then rolled in the form of a cigarette. The ends are twisted to avoid any fall out. Sometimes two papers may be used to strengthen the 'reefer'. Marijuana can also be eaten just like bhang, or brewed like tea, but taking it by mouth reduces its effect. While ingestion may take up to an hour to feel the effect, smoking may have an instantaneous effect. Marijuana is sometimes baked in biscuits too (known as 'cookies' or `brownies') and eaten.

Smoking marijuana is referred to as 'turning on'. The `reefers' are often wetted with the tongue in order to slow the burning. This does not make the reefer very pleasing aesthetically, but it serves a practical purpose. Quite frequently the 'reefer' is grey, soggy, repulsive looking and unhygienic. Some people prefer a pipe or a 'bong' and the best pipes for this purpose have smaller bowls than ordinary pipes. 'Reefers' or pipes are frequently smoked in groups, the pipe being passed among the people sitting in a dark room in which candles and incense are kept burning. Smokers may either be members of a 'closed', or an 'open' circle. The difference lies in the amount of information that is exchanged about the stuff. In the 'closed' circle, for instance, marijuana is consumed but information like where it came from, is not disseminated. On the other hand, the 'open' circle has no restrictions about discussing the origin, amount, distribution and so forth about the drug. 'Open' circles are thus much more relaxed and intimate.

A puff on a 'reefer' is called a toke, and the object is to inhale as deeply and hold it in the lungs as long as possible. Smoking a 'reefer' as if it were an ordinary cigarette would produce little effect. The smoker must hold the smoke deep in his lungs for at least twenty to thirty seconds until it penetrates the lung tissues and enters the blood. A typical 'reefer' contains about 500 mg of marijuana. It we take the THC content of marijuana as about 1 per cent, then the THC content of an average 'reefer' comes to around 5 mg. Many high quality `reefers' may contain up to 1 gm of very high quality marijuana (containing upto 10 to 15 per cent THC). Thus a high quality 'reefer' might easily contain 100 to 150 mg of THC and if sprinkled with hash oil, the potency might be doubled. THC delivery by smoking is 50 per cent efficient. Thus even a low quality 'reefer' delivers about 2.5 mg THC to the body. This is equivalent to 7.5 mg THC taken orally. Many heavy users consume numerous high quality `reefers' each day, thus incorporating almost 150 to 200 mg THC into their bodies. When such a large quantity is taken for two to three weeks and then abruptly discontinued, withdrawal symptoms occur.

While the butt of an ordinary cigarette is thrown away, the end of a 'reefer', called the roach because it resembles one, is the most potent part because much of the THC collects there during smoking. It is at least one‑third and possibly half as powerful as the whole 'joint'. Various ways of consuming the roach have been devised, ranging from eating it to the more refined method of smoking it by holding it with a hairpin or some other special device to avoid burning the fingers. Among the objects recovered from Kanti and Ravindra's pockets were some roaches too (see upper right of fig 1).

Marijuana is almost never injected intravenously (in stark contrast to heroin). However, some illicit intravenous use has been reported with subjects 'shooting' crude marijuana, but this remains an extremely unusual practice and is accompanied by severe medical complications.

Another product from the cannabis plant is charas, also known as hashish in the Western world. Hashish contains 10 to 15 per cent THC and is much stronger than marijuana. Thus bhang, ganja, and charas represent three different varieties of the same drug, but in increasing concentrations. In the underworld of drugs, there is only one other drug which is available in so widely variable concentrations and this is alcohol (although it is more or less socially acceptable, unlike marijuana). A weaker brand of alcohol is beer (which may be compared to bhang), a stronger is wine (comparable to marijuana) and a still stronger, whiskey (comparable to charas).

Charas or hashish is of a dark green or brown colour. It is the concentrated resin exuding from the leaves and stems of plants. It is very popular with the hippies.

When I examined the contents recovered from Kanti and Ravindra's pockets, I became quite sure they were returning from a marijuana party. I have already mentioned that I recovered bhang and roaches from their pockets, but I recovered some other interesting items as well. At the bottom of the fig 1 you can see a strange looking pipe which is actually a marijuana pipe. So it appeared they were smoking marijuana too, besides eating Bhang. Eating and smoking cannabis products can lead to a drunken like state, and that may produce problems in driving. That is how I concluded that Bhushan must be speaking the truth.

But I needed to gather more scientific proof-one which could stand the rigors of the cross-examination in a court of law. So I took chloroform swabs from the fingers and the inner aspects of the teeth. Taking chloroform swabs involves wetting a piece of cotton in some chloroform and rubbing it on the area from where you want to take a swab. In this case I rubbed it over the fingers and inner aspects of the teeth of the two deceased persons. If the two had been eating and smoking cannabis products, some cannabis components must be sticking to these areas. The chemical analysis report from the lab confirmed that the fingers and the teeth of the two deceased indeed contained THC, an important chemical found in Cannabis as we have already seen. This was a confirmatory proof that both of them were returning from a marijuana party. Since they had consumed too much Cannabis, they were unable to drive well. This had actually caused the accident and their death. This conclusion led to immediate release of Bhushan from police custody.

When the police released Bhushan, he came and fell on my legs. He said that his life had been saved because of me only. The poor fellow did not know that it was not me, but forensic science which had saved him. I only used the science!

(To protect the identity of the individuals, their names, as well as the various dates of occurrence have been changed)