Last updated : December 23, 2024
It’s official. Thanks to a recent federal survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA), the people of the great state of Colorado can say, “We’re number one!”
Of course, the sentiment is badly tarnished when you consider the state’s top-of-the-heap position refers to marijuana use among Colorado youth.
According to a government study, Colorado, since legalizing weed in 2012, has jumped from third and fourth place in previous surveys to first place in this one. What’s more, other states where pot is legal are documenting the same disturbing trend. The national fiery-red hot spots can be seen front and center in Figure 1a of the 2013-2014 National Maps of Prevalence Estimates.
Big surprise, right? Come on, who would’ve thought making pot legal would result in kids getting increased exposure? I mean, simply because you’ve got a slick, well-funded marketing machine touting harmless-sounding pot-laced goodies like brownies, candy, and cookies doesn’t mean kids will be affected, right? Seriously, who would’ve so much as suspected legalizing marijuana might send kids an all-clear as far as the dangers of using weed are involved?
If you’re not shaking your head, perhaps you should be.
There are dangers involved, especially given the fact that today’s pot is far more potent than pot of the past. The specific threats to growing young minds are significant, alarming, and sometimes deadly. Two-thirds of new marijuana users per year are under 18 years old. Two. Thirds. One in six of these will become dependent.
Smoking high-potency pot can damage that critical part of the brain where the two hemispheres talk to each other and it is more potent now. Brain changes caused by adolescent marijuana use have caused permanent drops of as much as 8 points in an individual’s IQ. Those aren’t the only issues.
- Frequent use places adolescents at great risk of depression, anxiety, and psychosis.
- Frequent use also changes the physical structure of an adolescent brain, which is particularly vulnerable because young brains are constantly forming new connections.
- Marijuana-related deaths in Colorado have more than doubled in the past five years.
It has to be said here, Colorado leads the nation in increased pot use for all ages. Since Uncle Sam still considers marijuana an illegal Schedule 1 drug—as in, “a dangerous substance with no apparent medical use and a high potential for abuse”—it seems fair to say the Centennial State faces a host of other potential problems due to legalization. Since employers can still exercise their right to establish and maintain drug-free workplaces, no matter what users might infer from state laws, there are potential job losses and increases to a number of pot-related side effects.
- health problems, including some cancers (especially lung, head, and neck)
- mental health issues, including suicidal behavior
- fatal on-the-job and DUI accidents
Still, none of those risks can hold a candle to the threats posed to the state and its citizens due to increased marijuana use by adolescents.
The citizens of Colorado might want to take a moment to stop and think. Think about pot’s documented effects on growing minds and the fact that, thanks to legalization, increasing numbers of those minds are exposed to the drug every day. Think about the fact that young lives are on the line, in more ways than one. Do the people of Colorado really want to lead the nation in this no-win sweepstakes? Recreational use is really the driving force behind legalization and disguising the push with medicinal causes is only a thinly veiled attempt to reach that end. People so quick to vote to make it legal should give serious thought to the future. Given the facts and state-supported presentations of pot as a legitimate recreational choice, it’s likely more and more adolescents will turn to the drug. As they do, it will hardly an exaggeration to say legalizing marijuana is placing the future of those states in serious jeopardy.
