Coroner calls for drug education

A coroner has heard how a Taupo¯ man collapsed and died after inhaling synthetic cannabis.

Coroner Gordon Matenga now wants more public awareness around the dangers of synthetic cannabis, particularly the tendency for users to slip into unconsciousness.

Toxicologist and medicine specialist Dr Paul Quigley told the coroner it was common for synthetic cannabis users to collapse. In fact it was so common that other people present did not always appreciate that the person was losing blood flow to the brain. This was resulting in the death of synthetic cannabis users.

Evidence was heard in the Taupo¯ District Court on May

28 into the death of Andrew Brian McAllister, 49, who died in August. McAllister was a regular synthetic cannabis user.

Quigley told the inquest synthetic cannabis was up to

85 times more potent than any chemical in natural cannabis.

‘‘The people manufacturing [synthetic cannabis] do not understand the potency,’’ he said. ‘‘When inhaled, it quickly gets into the brain, hits the brain stem and then shuts it down.’’

Quigley said because of this, it caused users to just drop to the floor, with no chance to protect themselves and because it is seen so often, the collapse is regarded as normal, with no need to call for help.

He said synthetic cannabis appeared to make some people’s hearts go into an arrhythmia – as with McAllister.

McAllister went into heart arrhythmia and stopped breathing. Because no blood was flowing to his brain, this caused an irrecoverable brain injury.

Four witnesses, whose names are suppressed, were at the house when he collapsed and all said the same thing – that it was normal for McAllister to collapse after taking a hit of the drug.

When arriving at the Taupo¯ house, McAllister apparently asked for a bong and produced a bag of synthetic cannabis. One of the witnesses offered him a regular cannabis joint, but McAllister refused.

After taking a hit of the synthetic cannabis, he passed out.

‘‘I heard a crash,’’ said a witness. ‘‘I looked inside and saw him on his back and [another witness] said he always does this.

‘‘I had collapsed when I had tried synthetic cannabis, so I didn’t think much of it.’’

The witnesses checked on McAllister briefly but continued to carry on with what they were doing.

About 20 minutes later, one of the witnesses noticed McAllister was changing colour and another witness thought he was dead.

‘‘I gave him mouth to mouth. I’m not trained in CPR and I’ve never had to do it before.’’

Chest compressions were given until paramedics arrived. He was taken to Taupo¯ Hospital and then flown to Waikato Hospital, where he died the next day.

McAllister’s mother, Margaret, couldn’t hold back tears as she read her evidence.

Margaret said McAllister was ‘‘all mixed up’’ and she never knew what he was on half the time.

‘‘It was terrible to see him like that that, obviously it just affected his brain that way.’’

But she also remembered the good. ‘‘He had been a good son. He was a good person. A terrific artist. All that is lost now.’’

Detective Sergeant Andrew Livingstone of Taupo¯ Police said during the investigation, they executed search warrants on addresses they believed McAllister could have bought the synthetic cannabis from but no direct link was found to any person who had supplied him with the drug and no one could be held criminally liable for his death.

While Coroner Matenga reserved his findings until a later date, he and Quigley agreed that more education needed to get out about synthetic cannabis use, especially the way people could collapse.