Marijuana

Across the country, teens and young adults are adding illicit drugs to their vaping devices because they can use them without being detected, often right in front of parents or teachers.

A common narrative heard circulating amongst the proponents of cannabis legalization is that cannabis is not dangerous and therefore should be legal. This narrative is not just misleading; it’s largely untrue. As cannabis research continues, scientists and researchers are finding many dangerous health complications intimately connected to cannabis.

It is generally accepted that the more potent a drug is, the more powerful and severe its effects on users. So why is cannabis being treated like the same drug used by previous generations? The cannabis of today is not the cannabis of yesteryear. The serious health problems today’s users face stand as evidence of that.

In the November 2022 midterm elections, marijuana ballot proposals were on the ticket in five states. Voters went to the polls to decide whether or not their states would legalize recreational cannabis use, but were the ballot proposal advocates sufficiently informing voters about marijuana?

In 2020, Oregon passed decriminalization legislation to reduce the harmful effects of the addiction-to-prison pipeline and the failed war on drugs. However, new data shows that the implementation of the state’s program fell short of properly incentivizing addicts to seek treatment. The result was a less effective plan than intended and addicts continuing to use drugs.

Addiction is such a pervasive problem in America that one in eight Americans suffer from this problem. Grasping the extent of the problem is a vital first step to resolving it successfully.

In the late 20th century, tobacco and alcohol companies were caught using marketing techniques to advertise their products to young people. Today, it would appear that cannabis companies are attempting similar strategies to widen their customer base to include a younger demographic.

Most of the focus regarding impaired driving goes to drunk driving. But what about drugged driving? What about marijuana-impaired driving?

A recent study of 274 people found that adolescent cannabis users were three times more likely to develop severe cannabis addiction than other age groups. While cannabis poses an addiction risk for all people who experiment with it, younger users may be at significantly higher risk.