Nearly six decades ago, only one in five Americans supported legalising cannabis. By 2013, however, that figure had climbed past half the population. The shift did not happen by accident. It followed a careful campaign that started with compassion for the sick. Instead, it ended with a multi billion pound industry selling some of the strongest cannabis products the world has seen. Today, a new documentary, THC Inc, traces that journey. Directed by Eric Burton and Jesse Russell, it asks a simple question. What has that shift meant for young people caught in the middle?
From medical compassion to a commercial machine
The push for legalisation began with genuine medical cases. Families such as the Figis watched their daughter Charlotte suffer hundreds of seizures a week. They then found relief through a low THC cannabis oil. As a result, her story spread across television and softened public attitudes. It opened the door to wider medical use. However, that door did not stay open for medicine alone. Major companies soon followed the money. For example, Pfizer agreed to acquire Arena Pharmaceuticals in a deal worth 6.7 billion dollars. Meanwhile, Altria, the tobacco giant, invested close to 2 billion dollars in the cannabis firm Cronos. Overall, what began as a case for compassionate access became a fight over a hugely profitable market.
The rise of high potency cannabis
Cannabis today bears little resemblance to the plant sold decades ago. In the 1960s and 1970s, average THC content sat between three and five per cent. Producers now extract concentrates such as wax and shatter. These can reach ninety per cent THC or higher. The process uses butane to strip the compound from the plant. Health experts in the documentary describe anything above fifteen per cent THC as high potency cannabis. That means much of what fills dispensary shelves today would be unrecognisable to earlier generations. As a result, the strength of modern high THC cannabis products, from vapes to edibles, worries doctors and lawmakers alike.
What high potency cannabis is doing to young minds
The consequences for developing brains feature heavily throughout the film. One study cited in THC Inc tracked teenagers using cannabis at least four days a week. As a result, they lost eight IQ points between the ages of thirteen and thirty eight. Doctors interviewed in the documentary link high potency cannabis to rising rates of psychosis. Most cases appear in people under twenty five. Roughly half of those who experience a first psychotic episode go on to develop schizophrenia within eight years. In fact, cannabis use disorder now affects an estimated ten to thirty per cent of people who use the drug. Researchers describe addiction rates among young people as double those seen with alcohol. Since legalisation, hospital treatment for children who have eaten cannabis edibles has risen by more than thirteen hundred per cent. Several paediatricians link that rise directly to products that resemble ordinary sweets.
Families living with the aftermath
THC Inc gives space to parents who lost children to high THC cannabis use. Johnny began using cannabis at fourteen. He developed psychosis after years of dabbing concentrates. He died by suicide at nineteen. Randy started smoking at fifteen. He struggled with addiction for years before also taking his own life. Their parents now speak publicly about what happened. They hope their stories will prompt other families to take early warning signs seriously. Instead, people too often dismiss heavy cannabis use as a harmless phase.
Calling for stronger safeguards
Some lawmakers featured in the film have tried to address the potency question directly. Washington state representative Lauren Davis has repeatedly introduced legislation to cap THC concentration. Her bills would also raise the purchase age for high potency cannabis products. Yet industry lobbyists have fought her proposals each time. The debate is no longer confined to one side of politics either. At a screening of THC Inc in New York, executive producer Kevin Sabet was joined by several commentators. They included Nick Gillespie of Reason and Sohrab Ahmari of UnHerd. Their presence showed that concern over unchecked commercialisation now stretches across the political spectrum. The film does not call for a return to criminal penalties. Instead, it argues for honest labelling and real limits on potency. Finally, it argues for protecting children from an industry built to sell as much high potency cannabis as possible.
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