Marijuana and Youth

"Marijuana and Youth: The Impact of Marijuana Use on Teen Health and Wellbeing

National Cannabis Awareness Month is observed in April to increase awareness and education about marijuana. While scientists are still learning about the risks and benefits of using marijuana, we know that marijuana use can harm a teen’s health and wellbeing.

Fast Facts

• In 2022, 30.7% of 12^th graders reported using marijuana in the past year, and 6.3% reported using marijuana daily in the past 30 days.¹
• Compared to teens who do not use marijuana, teens who use marijuana may be less likely to graduate from high school or college.^2,3
• Research shows that marijuana use during teen years can harm the brain.^4,5

How Does Marijuana Use Affect Teen Health?

The teen brain is actively developing and continues to develop until around age 25. Marijuana use is associated with increased risk for the following issues⁴:

 

• • Harm to brain health. Marijuana use beginning in teen years or younger may affect brain development which may impair thinking, memory, and learning.
  • Mental health issues. Marijuana use has been linked to depression and social anxiety in adults.⁴ People that use marijuana are more likely to develop temporary psychosis (hallucinations, not knowing what is real, and paranoia) and long-lasting mental disorders, including schizophrenia.
    
    Schizophrenia is a type of mental illness where people might see or hear things that aren’t there. The association between marijuana and schizophrenia is stronger in people who start using marijuana frequently at an early age.¹⁰
  • Impaired driving. Driving while impaired by marijuana is dangerous and illegal. Marijuana affects reaction time, coordination, and concentration—skills required for safe driving.¹¹
  • Increased potential for marijuana use disorder. People who begin using marijuana before the age of 18 are at increased risk of developing marijuana use disorder.^.."
    Marijuana and Youth 

What We Know about Marijuana

"Marijuana—also known as cannabis, weed, pot, or dope—refers to the dried flowers, leaves, stems, and seeds of the cannabis plant. The cannabis plant contains more than 100 compounds (or cannabinoids).

These compounds include tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is impairing, and cannabidiol (CBD), which is not impairing–meaning it does not cause a “high.”

Legalization of Marijuana in the U.S.

Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level; however, more than 50% of states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have legalized marijuana for medical use. Also, states are increasingly legalizing it for non-medical adult use.

Although marijuana is used for medical and non-medical adult use, this does not mean it is safe. Scientists are still learning about the health effects and the potential health benefits of using marijuana.

How Can Marijuana Affect Your Heath?

Even though more research is needed to fully understand some of the health effects of marijuana, we know marijuana use may have a wide range of effects on the brain and body.

Brain Development and Function

• Developing brains, such as those in babies, children, and teenagers, are especially susceptible to harmful effects of marijuana and THC. Using marijuana during adolescence or young adulthood, before the brain is fully developed, may affect how the brain builds connections for functions like attention, memory, and learning. These effects may last a long time or even be permanent.
• Recent marijuana use (defined as within 24 hours) directly affects parts of the brain responsible for decision-making, coordination, emotions, and reaction time and can impair important skills required for safe driving.

Marijuana is the most commonly used federally illegal drug in the United States, with an estimated 48.2 million people using it in 2019.

Heart and Lungs

• Smoking any product, including marijuana, can damage the lungs, increase risk of bronchitis, and scar small blood vessels. Smoking marijuana can also increase the risk for stroke, heart disease, and other vascular diseases.

Mental Health

• Marijuana use has been linked to social anxiety, depression, suicide, and schizophrenia. Scientists don’t yet know whether marijuana use directly causes these health issues, but it may make symptoms more severe.

Inhaling or Eating Marijuana

• Vaping THC-containing products has been linked to lung injury and even death. Use of concentrates in vaping or dabbing devices delivers very high levels of THC to the user and may carry health risks because of the high concentration or strength of THC being used.
• Eating edibles (foods and drinks that contain marijuana) can take longer to kick in compared to smoking marijuana. The delayed effect of consuming edibles may increase the risk of consuming too much, which can lead to poisoning or serious injury.

Polysubstance Use— The use of more than one drug. This includes when two or more drugs are taken together or within a short time period, either intentionally or unintentionally:

• Using alcohol and marijuana at the same time will likely cause greater impairment and risk of physical harm.
• Using marijuana in combination with opioids can increase risk for opioid misuse.
• Marijuana may change how prescription drugs work, so talk with your doctor about any medications you are taking and the possible side effects when mixed with marijuana or other drugs.

Marijuana Use Disorder

Some people who use marijuana will develop marijuana use disorder, meaning that they are unable to stop using marijuana even though it’s causing health and social problems in their lives.

One study estimated that approximately 3 in 10 people who use marijuana have marijuana use disorder. The risk of developing marijuana use disorder is stronger in people who start using marijuana during youth and who use marijuana more frequently..."
Marijuana 

Marijuana's Health Effects

"Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States, with 22.2 million users. But the types of marijuana available today are more potent than before and come in many forms, including oils that can be vaped, and edibles, from brownies and candy to sodas. This leaves many with a lot of questions about marijuana use and its health effects.

New Web pages, published this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provide more information about the health effects of marijuana use and answer some of the commonly asked public health questions in the discussion about marijuana in the United States.

Here are just a few of the health effects you may want to know:

• Marijuana use directly affects the brain—specifically the parts of the brain responsible for memory, learning, and attention.
• The compounds in marijuana can affect the circulatory system and may increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
• Smoking marijuana can lead to a greater risk of bronchitis, cough, and phlegm production..."

 Marijuana

DEA Position on Marijuana
"The campaign to legitimize what is called ―medical‖ marijuana is based on two propositions: first, that science views marijuana as medicine; and second, that the DEA targets sick and dying people using the drug. Neither proposition is true. Specifically, smoked marijuana has not withstood the rigors of science–it is not medicine, and it is not safe. Moreover, the DEA targets criminals engaged in the
cultivation and trafficking of marijuana, not the sick and dying. This is true even in the 14 states that have approved the use of ―medical‖ marijuana.

On October 19, 2009 Attorney General Eric Holder announced formal guidelines for federal prosecutors in states that have enacted laws authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The guidelines, as set forth in a memorandum from Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden, makes clear that the focus of federal resources should not be on individuals whose actions are in compliance with existing state laws, and underscores that the Department will continue to prosecute people whose
claims of compliance with state and local law conceal operations inconsistent with the terms, conditions, or purposes of the law. He also reiterated that the Department of Justice is committed to the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in all states and that this guidance does not legalize marijuana or provide for legal defense to a violation of federal law..."
2
While some people
have interpreted these guidelines to mean that the federal government has relaxed its policy on
―medical‖ marijuana, this in fact is not the case. Investigations and prosecutions of violations of state
and federal law will continue. These are the guidelines DEA has and will continue to follow

Medical Marijuana: Review and Analyis of Federal and State Policies
"The issue before Congress is whether to continue the federal prosecution of medical marijuana patients and their providers, in accordance with the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), or whether to relax federal marijuana prohibition enough to permit the medicinal use of botanical cannabis products when recommended by a physician, especially where permitted under state law.

Bills that would make medical marijuana available under federal law for medical use in the states with medical marijuana programs and that would make it possible for defendants in federal court to reveal to juries that their marijuana activity was medically related and legal under state law have been introduced in recent Congresses and are likely to be reintroduced in the 111th Congress.

Past proposals to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II of the CSA might also resurface in the current Congress. The Obama Administration’s Attorney General has signaled an end to federal raids by the Drug Enforcement Administration of medical marijuana dispensaries that are operating in accordance with state laws, in fulfillment of a pledge to end such actions that was made by candidate Obama
during the presidential campaign. .."

New Report Finds Highest Levels of THC in U.S. Marijuana to Date
"Today, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released the latest analysis from the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project, which revealed levels of THC - the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana - have reached the highest-ever levels since scientific analysis of the drug began in the late 1970s. According to the latest data on marijuana samples analyzed to date, the average amount of THC in seized samples has reached a new high of 10.1 percent. This compares to an average of just under 4 percent reported in 1983 and represents more than a doubling in the potency of the drug since that time..."

New report finds highest-ever levels of THC in U.S. marijuana
"Today, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) released the latest analysis from the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project, which revealed that levels of THC - the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana - have reached the highest-ever amounts since scientific analysis of the drug began in the late 1970s. According to the latest data on marijuana samples analyzed to date, the average amount of THC in seized samples has reached a new high of 9.6 percent. This compares to an average of just under 4 percent reported in 1983 and represents more than a doubling in the potency of the drug since that time."