Facts & Risks
Educate Your Family on Dangers of Marijuana Use
Marijuana use comes with real risks that can impact a person’s health and life.
Whether marijuana is smoked, vaped, or eaten, there are adverse effects associated with use in any form.
Studies have found marijuana is an addictive, harmful, and mind altering drug. It over-activates parts of the brain and negatively affects brain development. Marijuana leads to physical health problems, mental health problems, and risk of addiction.
With the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana throughout the United States, marijuana potency has increased exponentially. Concentrates are not the traditional joint of the past. Concentrates are highly potent, THC-rich forms of marijuana that can be vaped, dabbed, and used in edibles.
Exposure to high levels of THC, the chemical in marijuana that causes impairment, increases the risks of physical dependence and addiction. Higher doses of THC are more likely to produce anxiety, agitation, paranoia, and psychosis.
Arizona Parents: Do you need tips on how to talk to your child about the new recreational marijuana laws? Download these talking tips today.

Surgeon General Advisory
– VADM Jerome Adams, the first Surgeon General Advisory on marijuana since 1982

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Almost 30% of teens have used marijuana - this is TOO many!
Latest Studies
Cannabis Use in Adolescent and Young Adult Athletes: A Clinical Review | PubMed | 11/10/2023
Abstract
Context: Cannabis use among the general population has increased over time, in part due to decriminalization of use and greater social acceptance of cannabis use. These changes have contributed to increased availability of cannabis products, thus raising the likelihood that a subset of adolescent and young adult athletes will use cannabis. Therefore, it is imperative that clinicians and other providers working with young athletes have a thorough understanding of the impact cannabis can have on the athletic performance and overall health of a young athlete.
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Chronic pain, cannabis legalisation, and cannabis use disorder among patients in the US Veterans Health Administration system, 2005 to 2019: a repeated, cross-sectional study | The Lancet | 10/11/2023
Summary
Background
Cannabis use disorder is associated with considerable comorbidity and impairment in functioning, and prevalence is increasing among adults with chronic pain. We aimed to assess the effect of introduction of medical cannabis laws (MCL) and recreational cannabis laws (RCL) on the increase in cannabis use disorder among patients in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA).
Methods
Data from patients with one or more primary care, emergency, or mental health visit to the VHA in 2005–19 were analysed using 15 repeated cross-sectional VHA electronic health record datasets (ie, one dataset per year). Patients in hospice or palliative care were excluded. Patients were stratified as having chronic pain or not using an American Pain Society taxonomy of painful medical conditions. We used staggered-adoption difference-in-difference analyses to estimate the role of MCL and RCL enactment in the increases in prevalence of diagnosed cannabis use disorder and associations with presence of chronic pain, accounting for the year that state laws were enacted. We did this by fitting a linear binomial regression model stratified by pain, with time-varying cannabis law status, fixed effects for state, categorical year, time-varying state-level sociodemographic covariates, and patient covariates (age group [18–34 years, 35–64 years, and 65–75 years], sex, and race and ethnicity).
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Cannabis use disorder and adverse cardiovascular outcomes: A population-based retrospective cohort analysis of adults from Alberta, Canada | Wiley | 9/27/2023
Abstract
Aim
To measure the association between cannabis use disorder (CUD) and adverse cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes.
Design and Setting
We conducted a matched, population-based retrospective cohort study involving five linked administrative health databases from Alberta, Canada.
Participants
We identified participants with CUD diagnosis codes and matched them to participants without CUD codes by gender, year of birth and time of presentation to the health system. We included 29 764 pairs (n = 59 528 individuals in total).
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The impact of in utero cannabis exposure on fetal growth | PUBMed | 9/14/2023
Abstract
Background: The goal of this study was to examine if in utero cannabis exposure predicted reduced birth size and if these effects were evident in specific growth parameters as early as the second trimester.
Methods: Eligible women had an initial prenatal visit between January 1, 2010, and March 31, 2020, completed an anatomy ultrasound between 18-24 weeks’ gestation, and had no self-reported alcohol, tobacco, or other biochemically verified drug use. The two primary study groups were cannabis users (n = 109) identified through self-report and urine toxicology screens, and a randomly selected control group of non-substance users (n = 171). Medical records were manually reviewed for background and medical information, anatomy ultrasound results, and birth size parameters.
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Cannabis-Involved Traffic Injury Emergency Department Visits After Cannabis Legalization and Commercialization | JAMA | 9/6/2023
Key Points
Question Have cannabis-involved traffic injury emergency department visits changed after cannabis legalization and the subsequent commercialization of the cannabis retail market (ie, store and product expansion) in Ontario, Canada?
Findings In this cross-sectional study capturing 426 cannabis-involved traffic injury emergency department visits, annual rates of cannabis involvement increased by 475.3% over 13 years. After accounting for time trends, legalization with restrictions was not associated with increased cannabis involvement during traffic injury emergency department visits; however, market commercialization, which overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic, was.
Meaning These findings suggest that cannabis-involved traffic injuries have increased over time and that the commercialization of cannabis markets may result in further increases.
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Latest NEWS Commentary
Risks of marijuana and THC on the heart: What you need to know | NBC | 11/18/2023
Americans are getting high in record numbers. As more people use marijuana, growing evidence suggests marijuana may be linked to certain heart problems. What’s not clear is whether the heart risks are from smoking marijuana or if it’s the THC in weed that could be harmful.
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ER visits for children sickened from marijuana surged during the pandemic | NBC | 7/13/2023
The number of young people consuming toxic levels of marijuana edibles or smoking pot to the point that they require emergency help shot up dramatically during the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
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Experimental drug shows promise for marijuana addiction | NBC | 6/8/2023
Experts say the results from a small trial show promise for an experimental pill that could help treat cannabis use disorder, an addiction nearly 14 million Americans struggle with. This comes as 23 states have legalized recreational marijuana use, making it more widely available.
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Marijuana linked to mental health risks in young adults, growing evidence shows | NBC | 5/26/2023
Over the last decade of diagnosing countless young patients with new psychotic disorders, one striking result has stuck out for New York City psychiatrist Dr. Ryan Sultan.
“Of all the people I’ve diagnosed with a psychotic disorder,” he said, “I can’t think of a single one who wasn’t also positive for cannabis.”