The Maryland Connection / Part 1
1987 Amtrak Disaster
Some may be too young to remember, but in January of 1987, 16-people were killed in an Amtrak disaster in Chase, Maryland, that was directly related to marijuana.
Video of the tragedy can be seen at this link -
“I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of destruction to the train. I’ve never seen a train derailment of that magnitude before.” - Dennis Dembeck, EMT
“The locomotive that was on fire, it was like somebody had taken a box of train parts, and sprinkled them all over. There were pieces no bigger then 2 or 3 feet.”
Bob Hausman, Fire Captain
“I remember seeing a rescue worker pick up somebody’s head off the track, and they just had him by the hair. It was this charred, charred skull of a skeleton that was left.”
Witness
“Waskevitz, the first emergency worker on the scene, makes his way to the wreckage … One victim is buried under the seats. He checks for a pulse in her neck and feels none. He digs farther, snaking along on his hands and knees, on his stomach, stashing debris behind him like a mole. He comes to another victim, her neck apparently broken. She is also dead.”
“Nearby, one woman is extricated alive and flown to the trauma unit, where her legs are amputated. She lingers for eight days before dying.”
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Then there’s the issue of stoned parents, who while high forget about potential consequences marijuana can have on their children.
“The man’s daughter and four other students had a reaction to marijuana laced gummy bears … All five students reported feeling ill, and they were taken to the hospital in Leonardtown.”
Link to original story - https://www.somdnews.com/enterprise/crime_and_courts/father-charged-in-school-pot-candy-probe/article_5cc2c3b7-86c4-5509-9bf7-2617842c1e12.html
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“The single-car crash at about 4:25 a.m. Feb. 2 killed sisters London Dixon, 8, and Paris Dixon, 5, who were Taylor's daughters … Three of the sisters' cousins also were killed: Damari Herald, 15, Zion Beard, 14, and Rickelle Ricks, 6."
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“Marijuana may increase the risk of developing psychotic disorders like schizophrenia. It can also worsen symptoms in people who already have psychosis.”
“Marijuana use during adolescence can have lasting effects, including changes to the reward system in the brain and trouble with thinking and remembering.”
“Marijuana use can cause symptoms of mental health problems like psychosis (hallucinations), anxiety (panic attacks), depression, and sleep disorders, but these symptoms generally fade after the effect of the drug has worn off.”
“People may get “too high” by using a strain of marijuana that is stronger than they thought it would be, by using too much, or by consuming it in different ways. Smoking marijuana usually takes effect quickly (a matter of minutes), while consuming edibles usually takes longer (a matter of hours) for an individual to feel the effects, and they may end up consuming too much because they “don’t feel it” at first.”
“Adults who have been diagnosed with marijuana (cannabis) use disorder have high rates of mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and ADHD. It is hard to know whether the marijuana use disorder or the mental health disorder appeared first, since many people use drugs to self-medicate."
Some may be too young to remember, but in January of 1987, 16-people were killed in an Amtrak disaster in Chase, Maryland, that was directly related to marijuana.
- NTSB Accident Report. "The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure, as a result of impairment from marijuana, of the engineer of Conrail train ENS-121 to stop his train in compliance with home signal 1N before it fouled track 2 at Gunpow ..."
- George Mason University / Marijuana Fact sheet - "Marijuana can alter one's sense of time and impair the ability to perform tasks that require concentration ... Experiments have shown that marijuana affects a wide range of skills needed for safe driving.” - http://www.gmu.edu/resources/facstaff/facultyfacts/1-2/grass.html
- WIKIPEDIA - "At the time, the wreck was the deadliest in Amtrak's history … Gates and his brakeman, Edward "Butch" Cromwell, were also smoking a marijuana cigarette. Cromwell was responsible for calling out the signals if Gates missed them, but failed to do so." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987_Maryland_train_collision
Video of the tragedy can be seen at this link -
- Rescue 911 / Amtrak 1987 - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bol7q-78muY
“I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of destruction to the train. I’ve never seen a train derailment of that magnitude before.” - Dennis Dembeck, EMT
“The locomotive that was on fire, it was like somebody had taken a box of train parts, and sprinkled them all over. There were pieces no bigger then 2 or 3 feet.”
Bob Hausman, Fire Captain
“I remember seeing a rescue worker pick up somebody’s head off the track, and they just had him by the hair. It was this charred, charred skull of a skeleton that was left.”
Witness
- Baltimore Magazine - https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/section/community/special-report-on-the-crash-of-amtrak-colonial-94/
“Waskevitz, the first emergency worker on the scene, makes his way to the wreckage … One victim is buried under the seats. He checks for a pulse in her neck and feels none. He digs farther, snaking along on his hands and knees, on his stomach, stashing debris behind him like a mole. He comes to another victim, her neck apparently broken. She is also dead.”
“Nearby, one woman is extricated alive and flown to the trauma unit, where her legs are amputated. She lingers for eight days before dying.”
- - - - -
Then there’s the issue of stoned parents, who while high forget about potential consequences marijuana can have on their children.
- Maryland Children Get Sick - http://www.poppot.org/2018/01/24/maryland-children-get-sick-big-marijuana-pushes-its-agenda/
“The man’s daughter and four other students had a reaction to marijuana laced gummy bears … All five students reported feeling ill, and they were taken to the hospital in Leonardtown.”
Link to original story - https://www.somdnews.com/enterprise/crime_and_courts/father-charged-in-school-pot-candy-probe/article_5cc2c3b7-86c4-5509-9bf7-2617842c1e12.html
- - - - -
- Mother Charged in Maryland Crash That Killed 5 Children, 1 Man Had Marijuana and Alcohol in Her System: Prosecutors - https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/mother-charged-in-maryland-crash-that-killed-5-children-1-man-had-marijuana-and-alcohol-in-her-system-prosecutors/138478/?fbclid=IwAR2032POJCij0HPhkKvuNtQVQNQUfMt73Ixp8Dooq86DWn8L346SdzwPyig
“The single-car crash at about 4:25 a.m. Feb. 2 killed sisters London Dixon, 8, and Paris Dixon, 5, who were Taylor's daughters … Three of the sisters' cousins also were killed: Damari Herald, 15, Zion Beard, 14, and Rickelle Ricks, 6."
- - - - -
- Mental Health Association of Maryland: Can Marijuana Cause Mental Illnesses?
“Marijuana may increase the risk of developing psychotic disorders like schizophrenia. It can also worsen symptoms in people who already have psychosis.”
“Marijuana use during adolescence can have lasting effects, including changes to the reward system in the brain and trouble with thinking and remembering.”
“Marijuana use can cause symptoms of mental health problems like psychosis (hallucinations), anxiety (panic attacks), depression, and sleep disorders, but these symptoms generally fade after the effect of the drug has worn off.”
“People may get “too high” by using a strain of marijuana that is stronger than they thought it would be, by using too much, or by consuming it in different ways. Smoking marijuana usually takes effect quickly (a matter of minutes), while consuming edibles usually takes longer (a matter of hours) for an individual to feel the effects, and they may end up consuming too much because they “don’t feel it” at first.”
“Adults who have been diagnosed with marijuana (cannabis) use disorder have high rates of mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and ADHD. It is hard to know whether the marijuana use disorder or the mental health disorder appeared first, since many people use drugs to self-medicate."