Following news earlier this week that eight prisoners in Castelo Branco were fighting for their lives after taking the psychedelic “horse drug” ketamine, lab tests have now revealed there is no trace of ketamine in any of the men’s bloodwork.
What seems to have been at the root of the health scare was “cannabinoids” – possibly THC (phytocannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol).
While investigations are still ongoing as to how the men (all in the same wing at the prison) managed to get hold of the drug, two of them are now well enough for transfer from Hospital Amato Lusitano to the Caxias hospital prison, and another is already breathing without the use of a ventilator.
The men all collapsed in their cells on Sunday, showing signs of heart failure which are in keeping with the worst kind of side effects of cannabinoids.
Wikipedia states there has “never been a documented human fatality solely from overdosing on tetrahydrocannabinol, or cannabis in its natural form. However numerous reports have suggested an association … with an increased risk of … heart attack”.
The prison has been in the news recently for a number of reasons, including a bizarre superglue attack on door-lock mechanisms which required the fitting of a completely new door to the office of prison boss Fátima Jerónimo.
