Statements and opinions expressed in editorials and articles are not necessarily those of the El Paso County Bar Association.
Evidence That Smoking
Marijuana Harms Youth
Don’t worry, I am not
going to subject anyone to a repeat of the lectures we all heard in the 60s, 70s
and 80s, those of us who were teeny-boppers then. The fact of the matter is, most of us (or
them) did not become marijuana addicts. But
the truth of the matter is, some of us (or them) did. And many more youth, today, are. In Colorado,
about one in every 15 teens is using marijuana on a daily or near daily basis,
the highest rate since 1981. In the
marijuana used today, concentrations of the active ingredient, THC, are higher
than they were decades ago (20% today versus 2 or 3% then). Another alarming phenomenon is that significant
numbers of younger children are using as well.
Anyone making decisions about the best interests of children needs to be
mindful that whether or not marijuana is harmful to adults, we now have a
growing body of evidence that it is harmful to children: it can be damaging to their developing brains.
*Although
I do not cite the hot-off-the-press studies which lead to these conclusions, I
am happy to provide those references and point you to them. I can be reached at (719)201-0887 or contact@JaniceBlack.com.
Disproportionately, marijuana
dependence develops in people who try the drug before the age of 18: according
to one study, 17% versus 9% (of people who use the drug as adults); and
according to another study, adolescents are 9 times more likely to develop
symptoms of dependence than are adults.
Children, including
teenagers, are more at risk of permanent harm from marijuana, of actual
organic, irreparable brain damage, and of physiological and psychological
dependence on the drug. This is because
of the rapid growth and neurologic organization that is taking place before 18
years of age. Science now pinpoints some
specific ways in which smoking marijuana can harm a developing brain. It can cause changes in the brain’s very
structure. This can subsequently cause a
decrease in cognitive functioning: memory, motivation, attention span and
attentiveness are impaired significantly; verbal intelligence and fluency, word
recall, and visual scanning decrease; and reaction time and decision making
slow down. Reminder: these are the
effects of marijuana intoxication in adults as well as adolescents. However, while an adult brain can return
to normal over time, the altered state can become the new NORMAL for the
adolescent brain. For increasing numbers
of youth, lower cognitive functioning is the new normal. This alarming point
warrants emphasis: when adult onset users stop using marijuana their cognitive
and emotional functioning return to higher levels; when adolescent onset users
stop using, their functioning does not return to previous levels.
Psychosis occurs at higher rates in young adults who were exposed to marijuana before the age
of 18 at rates two to four times higher than in young adults who did not use
marijuana as adolescents – even if they do as adults. In at least eight studies involving thousands and thousands of people over generations and in
several populations and countries, this has been found to be true.
As
any traffic cop knows, aggression and automobile accidents are linked. Marijuana withdrawal in many cases leads to
aggression, which is another reason why the increasing rates of marijuana use
and dependence is frightening. Rates
of drugged driving (or at least the rates of THC being found in the blood of
drivers) doubled in the first year after medical marijuana became legal in
Colorado. One
study found that among drivers under the age of 30 who were killed in traffic
accidents, 30 percent were acutely intoxicated by marijuana. And it is 3.3 times more likely to be
found in fatal accidents than not. The leading cause of death to adolescents is accidents, and
marijuana use is associated with an increased risk of accidents. This correlation cannot be ignored.
What contributes to the use
(or abuse) of any substance? The
consensus points to three external circumstances: availability, social
acceptance and perceived harmlessness. The
current and likely future status or position of medical marijuana in Colorado
today impacts these variables significantly.
Teenagers who report that they know someone with a medical marijuana
license are about twice as likely to use marijuana as those who do not. With marijuana more available and socially
acceptable, and with the popular notion that it is harmless, adolescents are
particularly vulnerable. Their brains
are primed to seek pleasure, thrills and adventure – which accounts for why
they are known risk takers. (Indeed,
there is an evolutionary benefit to risk taking, one job of a developing child is
to actively engage in the world.) At the
same time, the parts of the brain that are in charge of impulse control and
judgment, that weigh risks, evaluate consequences and put a stop to a
pleasurable activity, are not fully developed or functional in
adolescents. (This is why adults, with
the benefit of mature brains, capable of applying brakes to impulses, and
making reasonable judgment calls when necessary, must watch over children and
guide them.) Even as we condone use of
this drug for various reasons by responsible adults, we must determine how to
protect adolescents.
*
As a mental health professional, I recognize some internal or psychological
risk factors also contribute to the use of mind altering substances, but will refrain
from discussing them here.
Active use is one issue;
passive exposure is another. Are there
physiologic effects of being around marijuana grow operations? Yes, there are. They include some frightening phenomena that occur
in the air around marijuana plants that are being grown commercially: high
spore levels of penicillin (which is not good news for any of the increasing
number of asthmatics); unsafe residues of pesticides and fungicides; and high
levels of carbon dioxide and carbon
monoxide about. Doesn’t exposing
children to environments such as these amounts to child abuse!
In determining issues
such as parenting time and residences for children, we must be mindful of these
risks and how science and statistics inform us.
Again, I am happy to point you to the research on which I base these
assertions.
