Pot won't kill you, but your bong might!

Now, I know you guys think using plastic in a bong is a bad idea, but you may not realize just how bad it is for your health! You may have younger family members who may be tempted to make a plastic bong, please show them this-

(It is a PubMed translation from French, so I'll even translate the "Sci-Speak" for you!)

Fatal alveolar haemorrhage following a "bang" of cannabis

(Fatal lung hemorrhage after using a bong with cannabis)

The new methods of cannabis consumption (home made water pipe or "bang") may be responsible for fatal respiratory complications. We present a case, with fatal outcome, of a man of 19 years with no previous history other than an addiction to cannabis using "bang". He was admitted to intensive care with acute dyspnoea.

Bongs are a new way of using cannabis. ( ) Here we have a healthy 19 year old pot smoker dying. He was admitted with severe breathing trouble.

A CT scan showed bilateral, diffuse alveolar shadowing. He was anaemic with an Hb of 9.3g/l. Bronchoalveolar lavage revealed massive alveolar haemorrhage.

He was bleeding into his lungs.

Investigations for infection and immunological disorder were negative and toxicology was negative except for cannabis. Antibiotic treatment was given and favourable progress allowed early discharge.

He was healthy except for using cannabis. He quickly got better when we gave him antibiotics, so we discharged him.

Death occurred 15 days later due to alveolar haemorrhage following a further "bang" of cannabis. Autopsy showed toxic alveolar haemorrhage.

He was dead 15 days later due to lung hemorrhaging after smoking more pot. The autopsy showed that it was chemical damage causing the bleeding.

The probable mechanism is pulmonary damage due to acid anhydrides released by the incomplete combustion of cannabis in contact with plastic.

The burning pot and plastic made some nasty acidic fumes.

These acids have a double effect on the lungs: a direct toxicity with severe inflammation of the mucosa leading to alveolar haemorrhage and subsequently the acid anhydrides may lead to the syndrome of intra-alveolar haemorrhage and anaemia described in occupational lung diseases by Herbert in Oxford in 1979.

These acids do a double whammy on your lungs: first the acid burns and poisons your lungs, causing to them swelling up and then the little air sacks and blood vessels start to rupture; a dude named Dr. Herbert wrote about how this really messed your lungs up.

It manifests itself by haemoptysis and intravascular haemolysis.

A person who has this is coughing up blood, and their blood cells are literally breaking down into bits in their veins.

We draw attention to the extremely serious potential consequences of new methods of using cannabis, particularly the use of "bang" in homemade plastic materials.

This whole thing freaked us out because we can see the possibility of more deaths because of the use of plastic in bongs where it can get in contact with burning pot.



Blades, tell your kid brothers, "Pay attention, PLASTIC FUMES CAN KILL YOU!" Unfortunately, the type of plastic wasn't specified, but I doubt if any of them do your lungs any good!


Granny

I'm kinds scared now. I smoked a lot of homemade bongs in my days.

I think this should be moved somewhere where more people will actually notice it and read it.

/ontopic That's why I've never had any of that shit in my 4 years of daily toking. People should be more careful.

http://forum.grassci...ttatchment.html

Anyone want to try and talk some sense into the OP?

He doesn't seem to understand that there is a REASON people don't make bongs with PVC.

What's a "bang"? Never heard of tht

To me it's the same idea as using a plastic needle, would you like that? A plastic scalpel?

No amount of plastic is safe in my opinion.

Edited by falcon10911, 31 July 2012 - 02:05 AM.

Wow, hmm. very interesting... Was it solely the plastic, or the bong as well? Like can a glass bong kill anyone, or was it only the plastic fumes?

I've used a lot of acrylics, but I stopped I'm sure they can't be good. I hope glass is safe.

An acrylic bong will only hurt you if you repeatedly heat it to the point it will melt.

This article seems like he was using plastic as his hitter piece as well.

420rip- "Bang" is a French mangling of "Bong".

Yosemite- Yes, you should read it! It might save your fool life. You can skip anything in italics.

Most glass is fine to smoke out of. Breaking because of the heat is more of a problem than contamination with glass. I wouldn't smoke out of lead crystal, however.

Plastic shouldn't touch anything hot enough to burn your fingers! No hot ashes should touch any plastic. Cannabis is safe- plastic is not- especially when heated!

A second sneakier way plastic messes us up is through phthalates (thal - lates). They are found in some plastics (PVC and #3).

Now hopefully, most of you know that it is the CB1 receptors in your brain that get you stoned. (and fight depression, and brain cancer, too) Well, phthalates screw them up!

The G protein-coupled cannabinoid-1 (CB(1)) receptor of mammalian brain: Inhibition by phthalate esters in vitro. (abst - 2011) The G protein-coupled cannabinoid-1 (CB1) rece... [Neurochem Int. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

Phthalates are super BAD news in a LOT of ways! It is strongly suspected that they are involved in causing breast cancer, birth defects and dudes, phthalates do bad things to male hormones!

Here, read the Wiki on them! Phthalate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This old world is a lot more dangerous than you think! It's a jungle out there kids! The dangers are more subtle than a tiger hiding in the bushes, but they can kill you just the same!


Granny

glad i grew out of my MacGyver days a while ago hahaha

thanks for the tip Granny! you're the best

Glad I don't do that anymore.

So acrylics are okay? Moving onto a glass sometime soon anyway but just wondering?

That's so scary!!

Thank god I've been smoking glass since I started.

Seriously my first time smoking my friend bought me a bowl (as a bday present) and we smoked out of that. Then we continued to use that til it broke, and then we got a new one.

Admittedly, I have smoked soda cans before, but less than five times, and with my family's genetic history I'm fucked for Alzheimer's anyway

Thank you so much Granny!!

and with my family's genetic history I'm fucked for Alzheimer's anyway

Keep smoking and feeding your brain and you wont be

Seriously never smoking out of plastic/ tinfoil again.
Thanks

I remember hearing about this case a while ago. As I remember, the kid used a magic marker piece as a bowl. Not a smart move the first time, but to go back and do it again two weeks later? That's an automatic Darwin award.
Sad, and I can't help but feel that prohibition contributed to this death. Prohibition limits the free exchange of information on taboo subjects The kid was obviously underinformed.

So are acrylic pieces okay to smoke? as long as they have metal bowl pieces? because alot of me and my friends use them because of our parents and glass breaks easily and shit. so we make gatorade water bottles with downstems like these? Were not burning plastic or anything? are we?

TWO - Metal Downstems (3.5") | eBay