When The Smoke Clears

Introduction

Marijuana is becoming increasingly acceptable in American society as a recreational drug and as an alternative medical treatment for chronic pain.

While marijuana is enjoying a surge of cultural approval after being legalized in Colorado, the facts about marijuana use have not changed.

Marijuana may be misunderstood as safe and even beneficial by many Americans, but these beliefs are based on widespread misconceptions about the drug.

Affects Community

Marijuana impairs motor coordination and reaction time and is the second most prevalent drug (after alcohol) implicated in automobile accidents.

Affects Adolescents

More youth are in treatment for marijuana abuse or dependence than for the use of alcohol and all other drugs.

Affects Health

Smoked marijuana is not an FDA-approved medicine and has not passed standards of safety and efficacy.

Affects Employment

Marijuana use impairs the ability to function effectively and safely on the job and increases work-related accidents.

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Marijuana Affects Adolescents

More youth are in treatment for marijuana abuse or dependence than for the use of alcohol and all other drugs.

With so many people starting to talk about marijuana as if it’s harmless fun, you may have started to question whether the dangers you’ve always known about marijuana are real. It’s true that marijuana is an addictive, controlled substance that is dangerous for you and your kids. More young people are in treatment for marijuana dependence than any other substance.

11- to 17-year olds who use marijuana weekly are more likely to consider suicide, be depressed, anxious and develop related psychosis.

Marijuana use is highly associated with mental illness. Youth using the drug are six times more likely to exhibit symptoms of psychosis, and are three times more likely to experience hallucinations.

Marijuana is addictive for one in nine adults and one in six adolescents that use the drug.

Like many other substances, initiating use during adolescence significantly increases the likelihood of an individual developing an addiction. Parents should be explicit with their children about the risk of addiction and about their desire for them to avoid using marijuana in adolescence. Between 2011 and 2014, teen admissions for marijuana-related treatment increased by 66 percent in the Arapahoe House treatment network in Colorado.

Marijuana Affects Health

Smoked marijuana is not an FDA-approved medicine and has not passed standards of safety and efficacy.

The American Journal of Psychiatry reports that regular marijuana use in adolescence may significantly increase the risk of experiencing persistent subclinical symptoms of psychosis. Marijuana also deposits four times the amount of tar into the lungs that tobacco does.

The psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, THC, has increased almost six-fold in average potency in the past thirty years.

Only one in five adolescents considers marijuana to be a risk to their health. A particularly potent form of marijuana called marijuana concentrate, or oil is increasing in popularity. It is odorless, easily mixed with other products and could contain toxic chemicals. Its THC content ranges from 40 to 80 percent of the product.

Emergency room mentions for marijuana use now exceed those for heroin and are continuing to rise.

Every parent fears their child using heroin. Do you have the same fear of marijuana? In Colorado, marijuana-related poisonings have increased for the total population by 148 percent since legalization, according to the Rocky Mountain HIDTA.

Marijuana contains 50 percent more carcinogens than tobacco smoke.

Over the last few decades, we’ve witnessed a drastic reduction in the number of tobacco smokers. Yet, despite an even higher cancer risk connected with marijuana use, its popularity is increasing.

Marijuana use negatively affects attention span, memory, learning and intelligence.

Marijuana can cause permanent brain damage and negatively impacts the still-developing adolescent brain. The changes observed in adolescent brains directly influence academic success as well as their ability to learn a technical skill or pursue a college degree.

Marijuana Affects Employment

Marijuana use impairs the ability to function effectively and safely on the job and increases work-related absences, tardiness, accidents, compensation claims and job turnover and is associated with poorer academic grades and a reduced likelihood of graduating from school.

WA study by the non-profit RAND Corporation, published in the journal Addiction, found that students that used marijuana and alcohol in middle school and high school struggled with poor academic performance and mental health problems. Marijuana use, though, was tied to a broader spectrum of problems, including increased delinquent behavior and being less prepared for school.

The effects of marijuana last two to four hours after use, but marijuana is detectable in drug screenings for one to five days for occasional use and up to six weeks for regular users. Marijuana significantly affects productivity in the workplace, causing a slower reaction time, short-term memory problems, loss of balance and coordination, changes in sensory perception and an inability to perform complex tasks. Marijuana affects each person differently, depending on their mood, weight and personality type, but it is dangerous in the workplace.