A mother of three died from the effects of using cannabis, a Bournemouth coroner has ruled.
Gemma Moss, 31, had been smoking cannabis and died on her bed. Tests found that her vital organs appeared normal, but she had moderate to high levels of cannabis in her system.
Sheriff Payne, the coroner, said: “The post mortem could find no natural cause for her death, with the balance of probability that it is more likely than not that she died from the effects of cannabis.”
Harm
The National Drug Prevention Alliance cautioned: “This case serves as a warning that cannabis can cause immense harm.”
Her mother told the inquest that Moss had previously smoked the Class B drug for years, but had stopped in recent times.
She started smoking the drug again, however, following the break up of a relationship, her mother added.
Abuse
At the inquest pathologist Dr Kudair Hussein said he was satisfied that it was the effects of cannabis that caused her death.
The National Drug Prevention Alliance commented: “It is extremely rare and unusual for a coroner to rule death from cannabis abuse.”
“Cannabis is known to increase heart rate and blood pressure.
Stronger
“Cannabis these days is designed to be much stronger than cannabis used in the sixties to meet demand of users who want a stronger hit”, the group added.
Last year the mother of a young man whose suicide was linked to cannabis said her son thought the drug was harmless.
Melanie Leahy’s son Matthew hanged himself, aged 20, while he was an in-patient at a mental health hospital. He had been addicted to cannabis for a number of years.
In December last year Norman Baker, the minister in charge of drugs policy, said legalising cannabis needs to be considered alongside other options.