Fake News: 28 Year-Old Man Did NOT Overdose From Marijuana

Fact Check

  • by: Maarten Schenk
Fake News: 28 Year-Old Man Did NOT Overdose From Marijuana

Did Gary Fields from Denver, Colorado die from a marijuana overdose and was he the 3rd person to die like this? No, all of that was just a fake satire ("fauxtire") story from a site that loves publishing hoaxes, it did not happen and there is no truth to it.

The story originated from an article published on April 20, 2018 by Huzlers titled "4/20 Tragedy: 3rd Person 28 Year-Old Man Overdoses From Marijuana" (archived here) which opened:

DENVER, CO - With marijuana grown indoors and mysterious chemicals used to make marijuana stronger everyday it was only a matter of time till someone overdosed from this no potentially deadly strain of marijuana. Police are saying the THC strength of the marijuana consumed by Gary Fields was 10 times greater than that of heroin.

On April 20, 2018 a Gary Fields a resident of Denver, was found unconscious paramedics were immediately called but it was he was pronounced dead at the scene, He purchased 1 gram of "triple og ghostface killa kush".

Before the accident he updated his Facebook status saying "I'm about to smoke this blunt! of some killa!" young Gary Fields was found dead in his restroom.

Users on social media might have mistaken the post for a real news article:

4/20 Tragedy: 3rd Person 28 Year-Old Man Overdoses From Marijuana

DENVER, CO - With marijuana grown indoors and mysterious chemicals used to make marijuana stronger everyday it was only a matter of time till someone overdosed from this no potentially deadly strain of marijuana. Police are saying the THC strength of...

But there is no THC in heroin so comparing the THC strenght of marijuana with it makes no sense. The CDC also says it is unlikely that someone overdoses on it:

Is it possible to "overdose" or have a "bad reaction" to marijuana?
A fatal overdose is unlikely, but that doesn't mean marijuana is harmless. The signs of using too much marijuana are similar to the typical effects of using marijuana but more severe. These signs may include extreme confusion, anxiety, paranoia, panic, fast heart rate, delusions or hallucinations, increased blood pressure, and severe nausea or vomiting. In some cases, these reactions can lead to unintentional injury such as a motor vehicle crash, fall, or poisoning.

Huzlers styles itself as a "fauxtire" website and carries a disclaimer at the bottom of each page:

Huzlers.com is the most infamous fauxtire & satire entertainment website in the world. If it's trending on social media you'll find it here!

According to Splinter News the site is run by Pablo Reyes and David Martinez and according to Buzzfeed Reyes is involved with several other fake news websites. They tend to shy away from political stories, opting instead to write for a more "urban" audience, with stories about rappers, criminals and celebrities.

We wrote about huzlers.com before, here are our most recent articles that mention the site:

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  Maarten Schenk

Lead Stories co-founder Maarten Schenk is our resident expert on fake news and hoax websites. He likes to go beyond just debunking trending fake news stories and is endlessly fascinated by the dazzling variety of psychological and technical tricks used by the people and networks who intentionally spread made-up things on the internet.  He can often be found at conferences and events about fake news, disinformation and fact checking when he is not in his office in Belgium monitoring and tracking the latest fake article to go viral.

Read more about or contact Maarten Schenk

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