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
%
Almost 30% of teens have used marijuana - this is TOO many!
Latest Studies
Risk of depressive disorders associated with medical cannabis authorization: A propensity score matched cohort study | Science Direct | 2/2023
There is an increase in the medical use of cannabis. However, the safety of medical cannabis, particularly for mental health conditions, has not yet been clearly established. Thus, this study assessed the risk of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalization for depressive disorders among medical cannabis users. We conducted a retrospective longitudinal cohort study of patients who received medical authorization to use cannabis from 2014 to 2019 in Ontario, matched (1:3 ratio) to population-based controls using propensity scores. Conditional Cox regressions were used to assess the association between cannabis authorization and the outcome. A total of 54,006 cannabis-authorized patients and 161,265 controls were analyzed. Approximately 39% were aged under 50 years, 54% were female, and 16% had a history of anxiety or mood disorders. The adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for depressive disorders was 2.02 (95%CI: 1.83–2.22). The aHR was 2.23 (1.95–2.55) among subjects without prior mental health disorders. The interaction between sex (or age) and exposure was not significant. In conclusion, medical cannabis authorization was associated with an increased risk of depressive disorders. This finding highlights the need for a careful risk-benefit assessment when authorizing cannabis, particularly for patients who seek cannabis to treat a depressive condition.
Read more
The kids aren’t alright: The effects of medical marijuana market size on adolescents | Science Direct | 1/2023
We exploit shocks to US federal enforcement policy to assess how legal medical marijuana market size affects youth marijuana use and consequences for youth traffic-related fatalities. Using hand-collected data on state medical marijuana patient rates to develop a novel measure of market size, we find that legal market growth increases youth marijuana use. Likely mechanisms are lower prices and easier access. Youth die more frequently from alcohol-involved car accidents, suggesting complementarities for youths. The consequences of marijuana legalization for youth are not immediate, but depend on how supply-side regulations affect production and prices.
Read more
Pediatric Edible Cannabis Exposures and Acute Toxicity: 2017–2021 | AAP | 1/3/2023
This study evaluates trends in pediatric cannabis edible ingestions in children younger than age 6 years with regard to toxicity, medical outcome, and health care utilization for the years 2017–2021.
We performed retrospective analysis of the National Poison Data System data for pediatric exposures to edible cannabis products in children <6 years from 2017 to 2021. Data were analyzed quantitatively with a focus on incidence, common clinical effects, medical outcomes, health care utilization, and changes in acute toxicity between the pre-COVID years (2017–2019) to the COVID years (2020–2021).
Read more
Impact of Prenatal Cannabis Use Disorder on Perinatal Outcomes | PubMed | 12/14/2022
Abstract
Objectives: With legislative changes to cannabis legalization and increasing prevalence of use, cannabis is the most commonly used federally illicit drug in pregnancy. Our study aims to assess the perinatal outcomes associated with prenatal cannabis use disorder.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using California linked hospital discharge-vital statistics data and included singleton, nonanomalous births occurring between 23 and 42 weeks of gestational age. χ2 Test and multivariable logistic regression were used for statistical analyses.
Read more
Trends in intentional abuse and misuse ingestions in school-aged children and adolescents reported to US poison centers from 2000-2020 | Taylor & Francis | 12/5/2022
Context
Childhood and adolescent misuse and abuse exposures remain a serious public health challenge in the United States. This study aimed to describe recent trends and patterns of intentional substance misuse and abuse exposures among school-aged children and adolescents in the United States.
Methods
This study was a retrospective cohort study of intentional misuse and abuse exposures in children 6 through 18 years reported to the National Poison Data System (NPDS) from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2020. Demographic trends, reported clinical effects, treatments, management sites, and health outcomes were assessed overall and within four age categories: 6–9, 10–12, 13–15, and 16–18.
Read more
Latest NEWS Commentary
Denver nonprofit creates campaign to warn students, parents about dangers of high-potency THC | Denver7 | 9/9/2022
DENVER — A Denver ballot initiative that would’ve raised marijuana taxes to fund after-school programs has been pulled from the November ballot. Now that school is back in session, a local nonprofit is preparing to launch a campaign warning parents and kids about the dangers of high-potency THC.
Read more
Highly potent weed creating marijuana addicts worldwide, study says | CNN | 7/25/2022
(CNN) Higher concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC — the part of the marijuana plant that makes you high — are causing more people to become addicted in many parts of the world, a new review of studies found.
Read more
EXCLUSIVE: How California’s legal cannabis dream became a public health nightmare: It’s a class B drug in the UK – but in the US state it’s led to spiraling addiction, psychotic illnesses, and hospitals facing a deluge of poisonings | Daily Mail | 7/2/2022
A row of luxury ‘healing’ creams is guarded by a locked glass cabinet, gilded in gold trim.
The packaging is stylishly minimal – clean and white with small black typeface – and beside the tubs sit decorative, artificial fruit and images of sprawling fields, with a small flyer to remind customers of the high-quality, organic nature of the products.
Read more
North Carolina House Republicans Block Senate-Passed Medical Marijuana Bill | Marijuana Moment | 6/23/2022
A Senate-passed bill to legalize medical marijuana in North Carolina is effectively dead this session, with House Republican lawmakers reportedly deciding not to allow it to advance further following an internal caucus vote.
The legislation from Sen. Bill Rabon (R) cleared the Senate earlier this month in a strongly bipartisan vote. But questions were already being raised about its prospects in the House, where GOP leadership had been consistently signaling that they were reluctant to move the legislation this year.