After my previous post, I now have reservations as to whether there is a real issue involving Colorado adolescents and marijuana abuse. As a supplement to my research, I wanted to learn further about potential health risks of both recreational and medical marijuana legalization specific to youth. Henceforth, I analyzed an article titled, “Implications of Marijuana Legalization for Adolescent Substance Use” published by Christian Hopfer, MD. The author declares that, due to recent Colorado cannabis legalization (recreational and medical) and ambiguity surrounding the “unknowns” about cannabis, it has been quite difficult to decipher implications on a susceptible youth. Hopfer suggests that recreational and medical legalization may have blurred the lines for youth between marijuana’s harmfulness and medicinal properties, which “…may lead to a substantial increase in adolescent marijuana abuse and dependence” (Hopfer 2). This is especially true being that marijuana is fairly accessible to adolescents through the black market because Colorado “… has the highest per-capita number of medical marijuana license holders, with approximately 3% of the population possessing [one]” (Hopfer 2). The article implies that, gradually, a growing social acceptance will encourage further commercialization, price reductions, and more availability/dispensaries, which may eventually lead to an epidemic among impressionable youth. The author, additionally, recognizes that adolescent marijuana use impairs an undeveloped adolescent mind and body. Hopfer’s analysis of supplementary sources revealed common deficits associated with adolescent use “…particularly in the domains of learning, memory, and working memory” (Hopfer 5). Additionally, Hopfer points out marijuana’s connection to “…impaired cognitive functioning, increased risk of developing marijuana dependence, elevated rates of school dropout [and] developing psychotic illnesses…”(Hopfer 4). Finally, Hopfer emphasizes that with no sign of any legalization reform, it is necessary to better educate the public on risk factors and, for the sake of scientific clarity, conduct more adolescent research regarding treatments, disorders, and addiction.
In my last blog post, I questioned whether increased adolescent use occurred moreso following medical legalization, as opposed to recreational, given my analysis of “State Recreational Marijuana Laws and Adolescent Marijuana Use.” After reading the article written by Christian Hopfer, I now have reason to believe that this may be true (i.e. medical legalization has a greater impact on youth use). The statistics presented in Hopfer’s article lead me to suppose that a rising social acceptance, paired with Colorado’s large number of medical license holders (approximately 150,000 by 2011) caused a more detrimental impact on Colorado youth than recreational legalization. As soon as the federal government, in 2009, publicized that they wouldn’t prosecute for medical marijuana possession, (being that marijuana wasn’t legal federally) I calculated that license holders increased by over 700%. With such a rapid increase in accessibility, I believe it’s only logical to assume that adolescents gained access, too.
Hopfer’s article, however, leads me to question if the supposed effects are deleterious or not? I am aware that THC, a chemical found in cannabis, can have cumulative cognitive effects. How do the effects of THC differ on an underdeveloped adolescent mind and body? From my own background knowledge, I am aware that the pre-frontal cortex, the decision-making portion of the brain, is not fully developed until one’s mid-twenties. Being that this underdevelopment may draw youth to engage in risky behavior, such as marijuana use, is the adolescent brain more susceptible to addiction? Additionally, could a youth be legally penalized for seeking addiction treatment being that they are admitting to illegal behavior? For me, I would especially like to know if short-term use could have long-term effects? I intend to seek out more data, so that I may find answers to what I do not yet know.
Works Cited
Hopfer, Christian. “Implications of Marijuana Legalization for Adolescent Substance Use.” Substance abuse : official publication of the Association for Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse 35.4 (2014): 331–335. PMC. Web. 12 Apr. 2018.
Cerdá, Magdalena, et al. “State Recreational Marijuana Laws and Adolescent Marijuana Use.” JAMA Pediatrics, vol. 171, no. 2, pp. 142-149, doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.3624.
Josi,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this post, and your older blog posts, I have to wonder why the age limit on the use of marijuana is not higher? I realize the youth will still find a way around the age limit, like many do with alcohol, but it would at the very least cut down on the young users. Alcohol effects people in pretty similar ways as marijuana, yet people have to be 21 versus 18. Is this is because the smoking age limit is 18 so *any kind of smoking falls under that? Even though it has been proven that marijuana and alcohol have effects that cigarettes don't? I also have to wonder how much of the young users smoke because they like the way it makes them feel versus their friends do it and they want to fit in/be cool? I look forward to reading more about what you find in your research!