Check out a graph showing how the average amount of THC in cannabis seized by the DEA has surged during the 21st century. Higher THC content is linked to a higher chance of psychosis, schizophrenia, and problems with memory and learning after using marijuana.
Source: Just Think Twice
“It’s just weed.”
Spend enough time at parties or clubs and you will probably hear this phrase used in instances of peer pressure to use marijuana. But what this reassurance does not convey is that cannabis is four times as potent today as it was just three decades ago.
The amount of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (commonly known as THC) in marijuana seized by the DEA has spiked from 3.4% in 1993 to 15.34% in 2021.
Higher THC levels in marijuana are linked to increased problems with memory and learning, distorted perception, difficulty in thinking and problem-solving, and loss of coordination. Higher THC also exacerbates the effects associated with regular use of cannabis, including physical dependence and withdrawal following discontinuation, as well as psychological addiction or dependence.
Even more disturbingly, all too often, people are unaware that marijuana, especially when it contains more THC, is a risk factor for psychosis and schizophrenia, as well as the fact that it stunts brain growth, sometimes includes lead and mercury, and can alter male sperm DNA linked to autism.
Marijuana Linked to Psychosis and Schizophrenia
“It’s just weed.”
Those are the words that still haunt the parents of Johnny Stack.
Johnny was intelligent, funny, and charming with a 4.0 GPA and a college scholarship. Living in Colorado he was recruited into the marijuana scene at a young age, changing his personality and resulting in cannabis induced psychosis. His parent’s thought it was “just weed,” but quickly realized it was anything but. Johnny had hallucinations; he thought the mob was chasing him and he ran off a building to his death. He was 19.
Brian Smith loved weed. Then the vomiting began. The teenager and his mother couldn’t believe what the doctors said was causing his dreadful abdominal pain and vomiting: smoking weed. He developed cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (CHS), also known as scromiting (screaming and vomiting). Months later, it killed him. He was 17.
I am an emergency and addiction physician who practices on the front lines of the emergency department. I had the honor to serve as the first Chief Medical Officer at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Every shift I, along with my colleagues across the United States, treat patients with marijuana poisoning. CHS and Cannabis Induced Psychosis are the most common marijuana associated daily diagnosis in emergency departments across our country.
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