Colorado emergency rooms are a hot spot for marijuana tourists
The number of cannabis-related emergency room visits by non-Colorado residents has increased compared with those by in-state residents since recreational marijuana was legalized in 2012, according to a report released Wednesday by Northwestern University, the University of Colorado and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Out-of-town patient visits to an urban academic hospital in Aurora, Colo., for health issues that arose after consuming cannabis nearly doubled from 85 per 10,000 visits in 2013 to 168 per 10,000 visits in 2014, even though similar visits from Colorado residents didn't change significantly in that time period, according to the report. The statewide rate of out-of-state visits increased from 78 per 10,000 visits in 2012 to 163 per 10,000 visits in 2014, compared with an increase from 61 to 70 per 10,000 visits to 86 to 101 per 10,000 visits over the same period...