A 27-year-old woman employed at an indoor cannabis cultivation and processing facility faced a series of health challenges that ultimately led to the first asthma related death in the cannabis industry.<\/p>\n

Beginning her work in May 2021, the woman, initially a cycle counter, experienced a sudden onset of symptoms in late July, including nausea, loss of taste, and a persistent cough. Despite two negative SARS-CoV-2 test results, her health continued to deteriorate, and her mother later reported the development of work-related respiratory issues after a few months on the job, according to a report published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Transitioning to flower production in October 2021 exposed the woman to increased dust, particularly during the grinding of cannabis flowers. Efforts to mitigate her exposure, such as covering the grinder vacuum, proved insufficient. Despite using her own N95 respirator and adhering to company safety measures, her respiratory distress escalated on November 9, leading to emergency medical attention. Diagnosed with asthma, she received medication but tragically suffered a fatal asthma attack on January 4, 2022, resulting in anoxic brain death. Efforts to resuscitate her proved futile, and her family faced the devastating decision to withdraw care.<\/p>\n

Medical analysis indicated cigarette and marijuana smoking, gastroesophageal reflux disease, may have caused her cough symptoms, however, her primary care physician had not seen the woman since 2015.<\/p>\n

Workers in the cannabis industry face significant exposure to substantial amounts of ground cannabis product, particularly in areas like flower grinding and preroll production. This exposure has been linked to various health issues, including the development of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and urticaria among individuals employed in cannabis production.<\/p>\n

The circumstances surrounding her death highlight concerns about workplace safety, dust exposure, and respiratory health, prompting a closer examination of the conditions within cannabis cultivation facilities to prevent similar tragedies in the future.<\/p>\n

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A 27-year-old woman employed at an indoor cannabis cultivation and processing facility faced a series of health challenges that ultimately led to the first asthma related death in the cannabis industry. Beginning her work in May 2021, the woman, initially a cycle counter, experienced a sudden onset of symptoms in late July, including nausea, loss<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1375],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[42],"class_list":{"0":"post-8228","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health"},"yoast_head":"\n