Smells like Murder episode of The Closer

The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick, is my husband's favorite show. In the summer he goes to a neighbor's to watch it, so I don't see the episodes until they are reruns. Last Monday was "Smells like Murder" which I think is the fourth one that had Charlie (Sosie Bacon, her real life daughter) Brenda's rebellious, risk taking niece. In this episode there's a sub-lot about Charlie receiving a package of marijuana from a friend and then baking it into brownies. From the IMDB.com summary:

"Back at home, Brenda arrives to find Charlie cooking. Brenda asks what the delicious smell is. Charlie says it's a surprise, but she promises they're going to have a lot of fun tonight.

Brenda sniffs her way through the house and finds brownies in Charlie's room. She takes one. [If you don't watch this show, Brenda is a chocoholic and sugar addict, always sneaking food she shouldn't be eating, rolling her eyes and then hiding the leftovers in her purse or desk.]

Later, she wobbles out into the dining room, a little too relaxed. She tells Charlie they need to talk. She had a brownie. Or two, or three. Charlie looks totally freaked out. But Brenda says they're the best brownies she's ever had in her entire life. Brenda is stoned.

Later, lying on the living room floor, Brenda talks through the case, trying to figure out who could have done it. But then her words start to sound funny and she's singing Willie Nelson.

Fritz comes home to this scene, his wife on her knees, singing to him. He looks at her eyes, immediately figures out what's up and asks Charlie what's going on. Brenda shows him the brownies. He suggests she go to bed.

Fritz [a recovering alcoholic] is not amused. "Who the hell do you think you are, bringing marijuana into my house?" he asks Charlie. He figures her friend sent her weed - and he signed for it. He asks her if she knows what could have happened if he'd eaten one, telling her he's in AA. He's yelling. "It's not my fault you're a drunk," she says, snottily.

He picks up her phone and finds her friend's number. He's calling her parents. He tells Charlie to go to her room and that she's going home as soon as possible.

Brenda comes out, asking about the fuss. Fritz tells her they're sending Charlie back. This spurs a Brenda realization, even while stoned. She writes down "send back." And then she takes a nap."

When I checked this episode on-line, some viewers (younger than me and apparently wise to the ways of this drug) either thought it was a lame episode and not realistic, or they thought it was hilarious. It was neither, but it was realistic in some parts. People still do this either as food poisoning or a prank.

The October 21, 2009 issue of JAMA had a lengthy article from the CDC MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) about a group of preschool teachers who ingested brownies with marijuana that had been purchased and shared by one of the staff from a vendor who claimed to be part of a church group (that was false). They experienced nausea, dizziness, headache, numbness and tingling of fingertips, face, forehead, arms and hands. When the director discovered her staff was ill, all with similar symptoms, the LAPD was called and the Dept. of Public Health of California. Only one staff person spit it out immediately noticing the unusual taste, and the other six, although they thought the brownies had a medicinal aftertaste, ate them anyway. One woman was a breastfeeding mother; two required medical attention at an urgent care facility. All had blood and urine tests. Symptoms lasted 3-10 hours; all recovered. The sidewalk vendor was never found.

Accidental ingestion of marijuana has led to coma in children. THC is the major psychoactive ingredient and it rapidly distributes to the adipose tissue, liver, lungs, and spleen, and then is released back into the blood stream where it is converted to THC-COOH which can be detected for anywhere from days in infrequent users to weeks or months in frequent users.

I'm guessing that because this happened in California where the DPH may be accustomed to some strange drug episodes and the staff of the pre-school were cooperating with the investigation, it was cleared up pretty fast. In some other states, they might have had to hire a lawyer and lost their jobs.