1) Mortality risk in a cohort of subjects reported by authorities for cannabis possession for personal use. Results of a longitudinal study.
Pavarin RM, Berardi D.
Epidemiol Prev. 2011 Mar-Apr;35(2):89-93.
Comments: A database-linkage study of people arrested for marijuana possession in Bologna from 1990-2004. I’m unable to access the full article, but the abstract reports a standardized mortality ratio (sort of like an odds ratio) for those who ultimately sought public drug treatment of 15 and those who didn’t seek public treatment of 2. Overdose was a leading cause of death for both groups.
2)Sudden Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss following Polysubstance Narcotic Overdose.
Schweitzer VG, Darrat I, Stach BA, Gray E.
J Am Acad Audiol. 2011 Apr;22(4):208-14.
Comments: A report of hearing loss after a poly-drug binge (heroin, benzos, alcohol, and crack). Again, I’m unable to access the full article. However, this has been reported before in relation to some opioids and the mechanism remains unclear.