Wednesday 17 August 2022 07:43 PM Legalizing pot leads to greater use among teens and young adults, upping the ... trends now
Teenagers in states that have legalized cannabis use more of it and are lured by colorfully-packaged candy-like products that leave them vulnerable to higher rates of dependency, psychosis and school dropouts, researchers warn.
A DailyMail.com analysis of research focusing on California, Massachusetts, Nevada, and other states that have legalized recreational pot shows experts warning of a 'potential explosion' of under-aged use — and more youngsters using it than in states where it's illegal.
They are alarmed by the weak oversight of a $30billion business and warn of a free-for-all market in which super-strength cannabis products are sold in cartoon-covered packaging that attracts youngsters, even as tobacco and alcohol firms are barred from targeting youths.
Data from the 19 states that have permitted recreational pot this past decade, as well as the 38 states that allow medical use, indicates that teens and young adults there are using stronger products more often.
Not every teen who eats a pot gummy sees their life unravel. But they are more prone to addiction and dependency than adults, and greater availability and use means more cases of anxiety, depression, psychosis and even suicide.
In November, voters in Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and Oklahoma will decide on whether to liberalize their own cannabis laws — and let windfall pot industry taxes flow into state coffers.
'Cannabis use is more common among youth and adults in states where cannabis use is legal for recreational use,' Renee Goodwin, who leads Columbia University's research, told DailyMail.com.
'Legalization has moved from a social justice issue, to the other extreme of big business commercialization without any of the same restrictions that tobacco and alcohol now need to follow.'
DailyMail.com also spoke with parents in pot-permitting states who told of their children getting hooked on teen-friendly cannabis products, suffering physical and mental health problems and messing up their education.
One of them, Mary Maas, 57, voted to legalize recreational cannabis in Washington in 2012, only to see her son, Adam, spiral into a devastating addiction to super-strength pot products worlds apart from the 'Woodstock weed' she recalls from the 1960s.
Adam Maas, 26, with his family in Washington. Mom Mary, 57, describes her 'straight-A student' getting hooked on super-strength cannabis products and ending up delusional, jobless and sleeping rough in Seattle
Only 4 percent of Americans said they had tried marijuana in 1969. Nowadays, 48 percent have, according to a Gallup poll released this week
Another mom says she took her family out of Colorado once it became the 'ground zero' for cannabis expansion. Another, from Oregon, has watched her 16-year-old daughter mess up school and turn to dealing to finance her addiction.
The evidence suggests they are not isolated examples. Goodwin's Columbia University study last month found that cannabis use is 'much more common' in states that have legalized pot and warn of a 'potential explosion' of use among both adults and children.
It used data from hundreds of thousands of respondents aged 12 and above from the 2004–2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Teens who smoked cigarettes were much more likely to try cannabis, she found.
A separate Columbia study from May found that vaping was the most popular method for youths to use pot. The share of high-school seniors who vaped cannabis tripled from 5 to 14 percent from 2017 to 2019, researchers said.
The Weed World Candies truck in New York City, which has legalized recreational cannabis but not yet licensed dispensaries. Critics worry about products that appeal to teens, who could get hold of them via intermediaries
Researchers say cannabis-infused gummies in brightly colored cartoon packaging could appeal to youngsters and should face the same kinds of regulation as tobacco and alcohol. Children have accidentally taken gummies made by Faded Fruits and other brands, according to reports
Drug enforcement officers have in the past seized cannabis-laced products that mimic candy, often with pun names like Tri-Chrome Crunch, Keef Kat, Twixed, Budtella and Puff-A-Mint Pattie
University of California San Diego researchers in May found that cannabis use grew among those aged 12-20 in California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Maine, which legalized recreational use.
Yuyan Shi, who led the research into the habits of 6,925 youths and 14,938 adults lamented the 'adverse effects on mental health' of youngsters who were able to get their hands on pot despite the rules.
Renee Goodwin, a psychiatric and substance use epidemiologist who leads Columbia University's research, says teen cannabis use grows faster after legalization
A University College London study in July found that adolescents are more vulnerable to cannabis addiction than adults, and just as likely to develop cannabis-related mental health problems as over-18s.
The Upstate New York Poison Center on Tuesday warned of a 'drastic' nearly six-fold increase in the number of calls about children and teens eating edible cannabis and getting sick between 2019 and 2022.
Dr. Vince Calleo, the center's medical chief, said the uptick was likely because edibles were 'more readily available' in a state that legalized use last year, and as 'enticing packaging' lured youngsters to sample them.
A University of Michigan study last month raised alarms that children as young as nine were becoming curious about trying marijuana. Many were influenced by 'messaging from parents' who did not impose rules on drug use, researchers said.
'What children see, children do,' said Goodwin.
The states that allow cannabis do regulate sales. In general, over 18s can access medical marijuana with a doctor's certificate, and over 21s can buy recreational cannabis where it is allowed.
There are also limits how much cannabis an individual can buy and possess.
But critics say legalization lessens the stigma against cannabis, and teens can easily get their hands on products by adults buying it for them at dispensaries, or by those who have the medical card needed for purchases.
They also say the
