Mother of three is first UK woman to die from cannabis poisoning

31-year-old Gemma Moss, who is a mother of three, collapsed and died after smoking a joint at her home.

17:26 31 January 2014

Gemma Moss, a 31-year-old mother of three, is thought to be the first woman in the United Kingdom to die from cannabis poisoning.

Based on the report, the young mother collapsed and died after smoking a joint at her home. Tests suggest that the cardiac arrest was triggered by the class B drug. Her death was registered as cannabis toxicity.

The coroner, Sheriff Payne, said: “The postmortem 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.”

Apparently, she has been using the drugs for years to help her sleep. She was found unresponsive on her bedroom floor by her 15-year-old son’s girlfriend on October 29. She was pronounced dead at the scene when paramedics arrived.

Meanwhile, pro-cannabis group Cannabis Law Reform said that it was “pretty much unbelievable” that anyone could be killed directly by the drug.

While Gemma is thought to be the first British woman to die from cannabis, her male counterpart died in 2004.

According to NHS, smoking cannabis frequently can cause short-term mental health problems. It can also increase the risk of an existing problem becoming a serious psychotic illness.