Two-thirds of Maine teens believe cannabis is safe to use, and use rates steadily rise after entering high school, potentially matching Maine’s adult use rates of 40% by graduation. This alarming trend, fueled by access to high-potency THC products, exceeds use rates in other states like Colorado, which was the first state to legalize recreational cannabis.

Today’s High-Potency Cannabis: A Different Drug

“I think marijuana is today’s most misunderstood drug,” says Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. “The new marijuana is a completely different drug. We’re talking 99.9% THC in some cases.”

The cannabis available today bears little resemblance to what was available decades ago. While cannabis in the 1980s and 1990s typically contained only 2-5% THC, modern cannabis products can contain upwards of 80-95% THC through concentrates, oils, and vape cartridges.

As one school official explained: “This was one of the cartridges one of my custodians found in the girls’ restroom… on the back of this it says ‘Purple Rain Indica’ but the total THC in this is 82.73%.”

These high-potency products result from sophisticated extraction methods that isolate pure THC, removing other plant compounds. As Dr. Sabet explains: “In a lot of ways, crack cocaine is to powder cocaine as the dabs and the waxes are to today’s marijuana. It’s actually much worse than that… we’re extracting only the THC and we’re inhaling it in a way that we never have before.”

The Impact of High-Potency THC on Young Brains

“We do know, and know really, really well, is that people who are young, whose brains haven’t fully developed, are at real risk to the downsides and risks of cannabis,” explains one expert. This includes “on average an eight-point reduction in intelligence quotient IQ.”

The human brain continues developing until approximately age 25. During this critical period, the brain is particularly vulnerable to substances like high-potency THC. Studies have shown that one in six kids who start using marijuana before age 18 become addicted, and for daily users, the risk of addiction rises to 50%.

One teacher shared her experience: “I teach at a school that’s smaller—my school has a population of about 100 kids. I would say out of that 100 kids, 95 of them at least smoke weed on a daily basis… They’re dabbing, they’re using edibles, and they’re using it at concentrates so high that they cannot function if they are not high.”

High-Potency THC and Cannabis-Induced Psychosis

Perhaps the most alarming risk is the connection to cannabis-induced psychosis. One young woman described her experience: “I had some of the most scary experiences I’ve ever had… something had flipped in my brain. Whenever I’d smoke it, I’d become completely psychotic, losing touch with reality. I was hallucinating faceless people, hearing whispers, becoming convinced bizarre things were happening.”

The risk of developing psychosis appears directly related to THC potency. As one medical professional explained: “The higher the dose, the higher the concentration of the THC, the more likely we are seeing the drug-induced psychosis.”

Another young woman described her horrifying experience after just two hits from a bong: “I wasn’t sure if I was dead or not until I started to see visions where it felt like I was floating and I saw my dead body on the porch… It was like the harder that I screamed or hurt myself, the more I was going to come back to life.”

Emergency Department Data Reveals the Truth

In 2022, a group of 12 Maine hospitals treated 5,258 patients for cannabis overdose. The two most common symptoms were psychosis and hyperemesis (uncontrolled vomiting). Even more concerning, 26% of these cases involved children under 18, with this demographic showing the fastest growth—increasing 53% from 2021.

These numbers challenge the commonly held belief that cannabis cannot cause overdose or require emergency medical attention.

The Rise of Daily Cannabis Use

“Right now in 2024, the number, the raw number of people using every day marijuana exceeds those who are daily drinkers,” explains one expert. “That is an incredible statistic and incredibly depressing statistic.”

This represents a dramatic shift in substance use patterns: “Alcohol: 10%, one in 10 drinkers use every day. One in two past-month marijuana users use every day.”

Daily cannabis use, particularly with high-potency products, significantly increases health risks. One young man shared: “I was spending a lot of money on weed… literally we’re looking at an ounce a week, so $300 a week, $200 to $300 depending on where you sourced your herb. I will say I am addicted to marijuana.”

Public Misunderstanding and Misinformation

“We’ve normalised, we’ve medicalised, and when young people were asked why they are using marijuana more, they say it’s a medicine, therefore it has to be safe. It’s been approved,” explains one expert. “That’s one of the great misrepresentations of the industry.”

Many people, including parents who may have used cannabis themselves years ago, have no idea how dramatically the product has changed:

“The marijuana industry has done such a good job to basically push people into the shadows, push the science into the shadows, and make you think like maybe there’s something wrong with you that you’re actually saying that this could be harmful.”

The Urgent Need for Education

A student shared: “It doesn’t matter how old you are—16, 17, 18, under 21—nowadays you have so many resources to go get it for you, either friends that are actually over the age of 21 or friends that are 18 that just got their med card.”

Parents and teens need accurate information about high-potency THC:

“The most important thing that I’ve heard from parents and from young people around the country is ‘why didn’t I know this?’ I thought that weed was this plant, this natural medicine, and that everything was fine. And it was not fine, and it triggered a mental break, a real break from reality that was debilitating.”

Understanding the Real Risks

“This idea of marijuana is just pot and it’s just the old weed that we used in college or something—different about it is a deception,” explains one expert. “The idea that this is about health and wellness is a deception. The idea that this isn’t hurting your brain, especially if you’re under 25 but even if you’re over 25, is a deception.”

By recognising that today’s cannabis products are fundamentally different from their predecessors, we can begin to address the potential risks they pose, particularly to young people with developing brains.

Source: YouTube