Marijuana & Youth: What Parents Need to Know
DPS Prevention Services hosted Smart Colorado for a parent webinar to understand the landscape of marijuana in Colorado and how it is impacting our young people.
Here are some things to know:
Today’s marijuana is very different from the marijuana available when many parents were growing up.
The main differences between marijuana used today and marijuana that was consumed in the 80’s and 90’s is the way that it is consumed and the potency of the marijuana.
Today’s youth consume marijuana by smoking it, vaping it, eating or drinking it, or dabbing it. Dabbing consists of heating a sticky oil or wax made from concentrated THC extracted from marijuana and inhaling the vapors.
THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is the the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana, or the component of marijuana that gets you high. . In the 80’s and 90’s the average amount of THC in marijuana was 2-5% compared with today when the marijuana has an average of 20% THC. Additionally, the concentrated marijuana used when dabbing typically has between 85-90% THC.
26% of Denver high school students report using marijuana in the past 30 days (HKC, 2019).
This means 74% have not used marijuana. Youth tend to overestimate the use of their peers. It’s easier for youth to say no to peer pressure if they do not think everyone is using it.
Youth are at special risk of harm:
Brain development is not complete until age 25. For best chance to their full potential, youth should not use marijuana. Heavy marijuana exposure starting in adolescence predicts and 8-point drop in IQ from age 13 to 38 years (Meier et al., (2012), Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 109:E2657-E2664)
Marijuana is addictive- the adolescent brain is primed toward addiction. Youth who begin using may be more likely to continue to use later in life. 1 in 6 develop addiction (Hall and Degenhardt (2009), Lance)
Youth who use marijuana regularly are more likely to have a hard time learning, problems remembering, and lower math and reading scores.
Increased risk of psychosis (2-fold increased risk of psychosis in adulthood
Andreasson et al. (1987), Lancet 2:1483-1486; Arsenault et al. (2004)
Talk to youth about marijuana to help them understand the risks:
42% of high school students believe that people who use marijuana regularly could cause moderate to great risk of harm. This is where we need help from parents to educate our youth.
Talk early and often to your child, ideally starting 2-3 years before exposure. The Denver HKC data suggests that 91% of kids have not started using in middle school.
Kids need to know how marijuana could have serious consequences- it’s illegal, youth can be kicked off of sports teams, suspended/expelled, loss of financial aid for many grands, loss of employment, loss of freedoms and privileges.
Tips to talking to youth:
Listen carefully and stay positive. Keep the conversation open so youth can come to you with questions. Knowing they can ask questions will help youth make good choices.
Keep your relationship strong. Let them know you want to support them in making health decisions.
Engage them in healthy activities