Last updated : November 18, 2024
Disturbing reports began coming out years ago linking teens, marijuana, and psychosis. “Nuh-uh,” said society. Marijuana is harmless. Users might act a little “spacey” or suddenly decide they really need a snack, but they’re happy and extremely relaxed, so what’s the big deal? In a word, the answer to that question could be “legalization.”
Legalization seems to have been a very big deal.
Once states began legalizing marijuana, the gloves were off as far as growers were concerned. As with any product on the market, if you’ve got the best of the best, you may be in line to obtain riches beyond measure! Companies within the industry strive to increase the levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the plants to be sold in the dispensaries. Of course, wanting to continually increase the strength of marijuana is nothing new in and of itself, however, after legalization, it seems as if levels are increasing so rapidly that we now have THC on steroids.
As a reference, Indeed currently has at least 360 posts relating to available positions in the “Cannabis Science” field—and there are many job search engines for people to choose from. The race is on but to what end?
The particulars of potency
The potency of marijuana has increased continuously throughout the years. THC levels averaged less than 1.5% back in the early 70s and grew to around 4% by the 1980s. Today, online dispensaries are touting that there are marijuana flowers for sale with THC levels up to 30%!
If dispensaries have products that potent, local dealers do too—which would be a teenager’s preferred place to shop. Even more disturbing, by-products, created with the sole intent of maximizing the potency of the product to the nth degree, if possible, are found everywhere too.
Concentrates, vape cartridges, and extracts contain THC levels between 50% up to 90%. They’re marketed as a “purer form of cannabis.” Marketers state that a higher dosage delivers stronger effects faster, but is there a disclaimer anywhere that consumers are also human guinea pigs?
We don’t think so.
That’s billions with a “b”
According to a graphic posted by Visual Capitalist, a data-driven site visited by hundreds of thousands of users, the marijuana industry is already a multi-billion dollar industry.
Here’s how it breaks down:
- Flowers—$10.9 billion
- Pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes—$2.2 billion
- Concentrates—$2.2 billion
- Cartridges—5.1 billion
- Edibles—$2.3 billion
- Topicals—$0.2 billion
- Other products, which include papers, batteries, cannabis pet products, and accessories—$2.2 billion
We feel the need to note that the graphic was created using data regarding sales during 2021. That was three years ago and since then recreational marijuana legalization continues to spread across the country. So, you can be certain that those figures have gone up substantially.
Too much of a good thing?
We mentioned above that marijuana products should come with a disclaimer noting that there hasn’t been enough research to ensure the safety of using marijuana and its by-products with such high levels of THC. That’s because as a rule of thumb, ingesting excessive amounts of—well—any substance doesn’t bode well for us.
Obesity is rampant caused by eating excessive amounts. Our air is polluted thanks to excessive amounts of pollution being pumped into it day after day. Humans are dying at an alarming rate due to excessive drug use. Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous synthetic opioid. It’s showing up in all manner of black-market drugs. Teens purchase different pills online or from their dealer having no idea and they’re not taking what was advertised. Not to mention that they are at high risk of forming an addiction if they do survive.
There haven’t been any deaths linked directly to high-potency marijuana use, but will that always be the case?
In the meantime, the detrimental effects of ingesting high levels of THC are beginning to surface and people are beginning to realize that it’s time to bring them to light.
Proving toxic for some teens
As recreational use becomes legal, some older citizens who haven’t used marijuana since their youth are venturing into dispensaries to legally purchase the drug. Many report noticing the increased potency immediately and that a joint may last them for days. Others have overindulged and wound up in emergency rooms across the nation exhibiting signs of having a panic attack.
This is understandable, of course, if they were experiencing much stronger effects from the drug than they remember from passing a joint or eating some “magic brownies” back in the day.
Teens, however, have grown up with the “you only live once” (YOLO) mantra dancing before them. And they haven’t hesitated to run with it! Some favorite TicTok and YouTube influencers that appeal to that age often perform dangerous stunts they can’t wait to copycat because, hey! Their video might go viral! And, that’s about as far as the thought process goes before it’s full steam ahead.
It’s because they’re kids
We all have experienced—or distinctly remember being—the teen who knows it all. They look like adults, are obtaining more responsibility, and feel like grown-ups.
The problem is that they’re not though.
Teen brains are still developing which explains their tendency to act spontaneously rather than committing the time to reason out the consequences of their actions. During this phase of their lives, the gray matter in the cortex thins considerably. It results in the number of synapses between neurons in the cortex being scaled back. The process is called selective pruning and is affected by the environment around them. So, if this is the case, hearing your teen retort, “But everybody’s doing it!” as if it should be the final say in the matter makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?
Things level out in the early 20s but young adults are showing up in emergency rooms after ingesting marijuana in some form or another too.
Risky behavior
Continued research is needed concerning THC levels and the way they affect the human body. Right now, marijuana is still illegal at the federal level and there isn’t any form of regulation regarding production. We have no idea how much THC is too much.
Let’s not risk the catalyst to begin intense research on the matter being a reported death by marijuana overdose. Or multitudes of teens and young adults living lives suffering with a lifelong panic disorder because they didn’t know “a little dab will do you.”
Truveta recently reported that between 2019 and 2020, cannabis-induced-disorder emergency department visits increased by 50% in the United States. As sales increase, we can anticipate that that number has increased as well over the past three-plus years. We must continue to educate our teens and young adults on the increased risk of suffering ill effects—which could be lifelong—of using high-potency marijuana.
Rather than forcing teens to take a random drug test regularly, let’s try educating them about the dangers of following the crowd from a young age. Let’s teach our kids about the dangers of drug abuse.
Education allows them to make informed decisions. And let’s couple our information with a meaningful dialog so they know we truly care about them and their futures. When we do, odds are we can become an influence that makes an impact.
