Some say it’s both already a social norm and accessible to kids due to illegal street weed being available for years.
“Growing up as a kid, marijuana was more available than alcohol or cigarettes,” said Christopher Fyffe of Dayton. “This is because some black market dealers don’t care if they sell to kids, kids sell to other kids, etc. The only way to reduce access of marijuana to kids is to reduce the financial incentive dealers have by selling to them.”
The Dayton Daily News spoke to multiple voices taking part in this wider conversation around the impact of marijuana legalization on kids, as well as looked to states and regions that have already legalized the drug.
The main consensus among the differing opinions is that everyone wants kids to be safe.
Damaging developing brain pathways
Marijuana, also called cannabis, weed, pot, or dope, refers to the dried flowers, leaves, stems, and seeds of the cannabis plant, the Centers for Disease Control says. The cannabis plant contains more than 100 compounds, or cannabinoids, like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is “impairing or mind-altering,” the CDC says.
“In any brain, what THC does is it blocks the pathways for communication between parts of the brain, and so in children from infancy on up until their brains are fully developed, closer to their mid-20s, the developing brain is building connections between parts of the brain,” said Christine Murray, a behavioral health therapist at Dayton Children’s.
Children’s development includes building those connections in the brain, Murray said. Exposure to THC before children are finished developing can cause complications or roadblocks, she said.
“When someone is high, there are roadblocks in those connections, making it easier for people to maybe not think of past trauma or to kind of be hyper-focused and in the moment because they’re kind of in one part of their brain and they’re not accessing all those different parts,” Murray said.
Impact of secondhand marijuana smoke
Whether it’s secondhand smoke or a THC edible, THC can damage the pathways of the brain for children and young people who have much less developed pathways, Murray said.
“The most concern we have is for that brain development,” she said.
Secondhand marijuana smoke also contains THC, which children can inhale if they are nearby. Recent studies have found strong associations between reports of having someone in the home who uses marijuana and the child having detectable levels of THC, according to the CDC.
Children test positive for THC when around others smoking and can get high, as well, Murray said.
Children exposed to THC are potentially at risk for negative health effects, though the CDC says more research is needed to understand how secondhand marijuana exposure may impact children.
Health risks for short- and long-term use
Even short-term marijuana use in kids poses a risk, doctors say. Those health outcomes could include worsening of underlying mental health conditions including mood changes and suicidal thinking, increased risk of psychosis, increased aggression, and increased problems with memory and concentration, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
For long-term use, the health risks include cannabis use disorder, breathing problems, and mental health problems, such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, anger, irritability, moodiness, and risk of suicide, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
A Columbia University study found that teens who use cannabis recreationally are two to four times as likely to develop psychiatric disorders, such as depression and suicidality, then teens who don’t use cannabis at all.
“What research is showing is that the younger someone is exposed to THC, the more harmful those changes are, and so the changes can be anywhere from lung irritation to...asthma-related issues and potentially future brain issues like lack of motivation, attention issues, memory, (and) even IQ issues can be permanent,” Murray said.
Parents should also make sure any marijuana products they have in the home are not near children and are kept locked up like other things dangerous to kids, such as sharp objects, bleach, laundry chemicals, etc., Murray said. Parents and adults should also not smoke around their kids, in their home, or in the car, just like with tobacco smoke.
“There’s residue to THC smoke, just like there is tobacco smoke,” Murray said.
Dayton Children’s has also seen patients with cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, which is a condition of severe and repeated periods of vomiting, she said.
Unregulated marijuana products also pose the risk of having other drugs mixed in without the knowledge of the user. Street weed or THC vapes have tested positive for drugs other than marijuana in drug screens, Murray said.
“I’ve seen drug screens for teenagers who insist that all they’re using is weed. I’ve seen cocaine come up, I’ve seen fentanyl come up, and I’ve seen (Oxycodone) come up in drug screens,” Murray said.
Kids may also get candy or gummies from other people at school or elsewhere, so Murray advised parents to talk with their kids about not taking candy from other kids or adults.
Parental influence
Kids will look to the same coping mechanisms their parents use, Murray said, so adults should be wary of their actions influencing children in their lives.
Social norms and increased accessibility make the Montgomery County Prevention Coalition concerned that it may normalize the use of marijuana, Colleen Oakes, manager of the coalition, told the Dayton Daily News.
“Now that it will be much more accessible and we may see adults using it more because it’s legalized, if our youths see the adults in their lives using, it normalizes it and makes the youth more likely to use,” Oakes said.
If marijuana is easily accessible to kids, this also puts them at higher risk for using and using at an earlier age, Oakes said.
Advertising, packaging, warning labels
The Montgomery County Prevention Coalition has concerns that advertising may be targeted toward kids, that products like candy or sweet foods with marijuana in them may appeal to kids, or even that children may mistake the products for regular candy.
The Montgomery County Prevention Coalition testified before the Ohio General Assembly’s House Finance Committee in regard to H.B. 354, asking for advertising of marijuana products to be similar to that of alcohol and tobacco, so they cannot appear to be directed at minors.
“Social media or billboards in the community are not appropriate means of advertising adult-use recreational marijuana,” the coalition’s testimony says.
The coalition also called for marijuana products to have child-proof packaging and for labeling, dosage measurements, and clear information to be on the product.
H.B. 354 would modify adult use cannabis law, including those restrictions on advertising, as well as levy a 10% tax on the gross receipts of licensed cultivators from the sale of adult-use marijuana.
H.B. 354 also continues the current law’s 10% excise tax on the sale to consumers of adult-use marijuana, like with medical marijuana, although H.B. 86, would increase that to 15%.
H.B. 86 would also impose a 15% tax on illegal sales from unlicensed sellers to consumers, as well as allow counties, with voter approval, to levy up to a 3% excise tax on the retail sale of adult-use marijuana to support artistic, cultural, and entertainment opportunities.
What have other states seen?
Teenage marijuana use is at its highest level in 30 years, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says.
Will legalization make it worse?
At least one study suggests the answer is no, and it may actually lesson use among younger teens.
Using the Washington Health Youth Survey, researchers in one study published in the journal Prevention Science estimated that after recreational cannabis was legalized in Washington state, cannabis use prevalence in grade 8 decreased by 22.0%, in grade 10 prevalence decreased by 12.7%, and no effect in grade 12.
“These trends are consistent with those in states without recreational cannabis laws, suggesting legalization did not impact adolescent use prevalence,” the researchers said. This study was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
What the community has seen
Kids have already been exposed to illegal street weed for years, some community members say, and with legalization could also come change.
“When I was growing up, literally there were dealers on every corner, every other house,” said Fyffe, who grew up in the Dayton community and currently uses medical marijuana to help with his chronic pain.
Now as an adult, even with medical marijuana dispensaries, Fyffe sees people continuing to turn to black market dealers due to lower prices.
“Right now, the street price for marijuana in Ohio is at an all time low and often is cheaper than going to a medical marijuana dispensary,” Fyffe said. Black market dealers are hoping lawmakers will place higher taxes on legal marijuana, he said, which would keep buyers coming back to them.
The way he sees it, the best way to get kids out of contact with black market dealers is to cut out the black market as much as possible, keeping legal marijuana affordable with a lower tax rate and allowing home grow.
“When medical marijuana came to Ohio, it took years to catch up to the black market, we do not need a repeat of this massive mistake. It is vital we keep the tax rate to a maximum of 10% — which may prove to already be too high — and to allow the cultivation of marijuana,” Fyffe said.
Fyffe hopes the conversation will continue on how best to protect kids and move the black market out with the availability of a legal market.
“It’s just a very important issue for everybody, and it’s something we definitely need to come to a good solution,” Fyffe said.
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