Expert: Potent 'Ear Wax Weed' A Dangerous Trend
DETROIT (WWJ) - It has a strange name and poison experts say it has sent two people to the hospital in the past month.
The recipe for so-called " Ear Wax Weed" can be found on the Internet, said Director Susan Smolinske of the Children's Hospital of Michigan Regional Poison Control Center.
Smolinske told WWJ Newsradio 950's Sandra McNeill the marijuana product is made by using aerosol butane to extract THC from leftover marijuana stems and seeds.
The result, said Smolinski, is an extremely potent form of marijuana loaded with a high level of THC — the principal psychoactive constituent of the cannabis plan.
"One puff is equivalent to one entire joint of marijuana," Smolinske said, adding that it's called "ear wax" due to its texture.
Smolinske said the drug is so strong, it has sent two people to the hospital in separate cases over the past month.
The man and woman were both medical marijuana patients, 36 years old, and suffering episodes of psychosis.
"They were hallucinating," said Smolinske. " ... They had behavior changes....(they) needed to be sedated because they were so agitated that they could not be controlled."
The Ear Wax Weed is part of an ongoing trend of stronger and stronger marijuana, she said.
"The type of marijuana that is around today, is much more strong than the marijuana that was available in the 60's, where we rarely saw hallucinations," said Smolinske. "We have seen teenagers who end up permanently with a psychotic disorder, because the marijuana has been the trigger for that."
