Thursday, September 04, 2014

The dangers of marijuana use by people under age 25

Who uses marijuana in the United States? Mainly young people. Marijuana use in the United States peaks at age 20, followed by ages 19 and age 18, according to the National
Survey on Drug Use and Health. According to the same survey, of the 2.4 million people
in the United States who try marijuana for the first time each year, 58 percent are under the age of 18. And of those who try the drug before age 18, one in six will become addicted to it (Hall and Degenhard, 2009, Lancet 374:1383 - 1391).

There is no debate among reputable scientists: marijuana is addictive and more potent
than ever. Its use is the No. 1 reason young people in the United States are admitted for
substance abuse treatment. For adults it’s There is no debate among reputable scientists: marijuana is addictive and more potent than ever. Its use is the No. 1 reason young people in the United States are admitted for substance abuse treatment.
For adults it’s the No. 2 reason, behind alcohol.

We're no longer talking the weed of Woodstock, either. That's when the content of marijuana's active and intoxicating ingredient, THC, hovered around 3 percent – and plenty of people got plenty stoned.

Today, Colorado's hundreds of dispensaries commonly sell strains of marijuana with
THC levels exceeding 15 percent. Concentrates – called "hash oil" and typically infused into foods called "edibles" – often exceed 80 percent THC. Many Colorado teens refer to concentrates as "the crack cocaine of marijuana."

In the case of marijuana, roughly 232,000 adolescents in the U.S. become addicted to the drug every year.

Christian Thurstone, M.D. brings us those statistics and many more in a paper developed
to inform policy makers about the dangers of marijuana use by young people. Read his recommendations here.

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