Health Risks Associated with Marijuana
William J. Lynch Jr., a clinical staff pharmacist at Kennedy University Hospital in New Jersey, an adjunct faculty member of the Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine, an anti-addiction advocate and a Delaware resident, spoke May 9 at the monthly meeting of atTAcK addiction about the increased dangers associated with marijuana use.
With Delaware considering legislation to legalize recreational marijuana use, Lynch said such a change could have a particularly damaging impact on young people. With marijuana illegal except for medical uses in Delaware, 70.3% of students 12 and older in Delaware who have used drugs say the first drug they used was marijuana, Lynch said. According to the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey in Delaware, 8.1% of all students said they has used marijuana in their lifetimes. Of those who said they used marijuana in the past 30 days, 5.9% said they had used it 40 or more times. Of the 9.1% of high school seniors who had used in the past 30 days, 13.3% said they had used it 40 or more times.
The biggest threat from today’s marijuana, Lynch said, is from its increased THC (the active ingredient). The THC level in today’s marijuana is three times as high (13% or more), compared to average THC levels of 3.96% in 1996. Lynch said some strains in Colorado have THC levels at 35% or higher.
With frequent use of marijuana, especially at a young age, Lynch said the detrimental health risks are ramped up dramatically. Studies show the risk of developing testicular cancer triples if a person began using marijuana before 18 and used it more than weekly.
Lynch said studies have shown that frequent marijuana use doubles the risk for stroke. And British studies published in Lancet found that daily use of the highest-potency marijuana increases the risk of psychosis by five times.
In 10 studies involving 66,000 individuals, Lynch said there is a higher relationship to mental illness and frequent marijuana use than testicular cancer. “There is a dose response relationship,” he said. With daily marijuana use, cannabis dependency increases 18 times and suicide attempts increase by seven times.
Even second-hand marijuana smoke can be a danger, Lynch said, with children coming into emergency rooms with THC levels in their blood after being around adults smoking marijuana.
The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a report on counseling parents and teens about marijuana use and issued this statement, “Marijuana is not a benign drug, especially for teens.” Read the report:
pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/139/3/e20164069
Health Risks Associated with Marijuana
William J. Lynch Jr., a clinical staff pharmacist at Kennedy University Hospital in New Jersey, an adjunct faculty member of the Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine, an anti-addiction advocate and a Delaware resident, spoke May 9 at the monthly meeting of atTAcK addiction about the increased dangers associated with marijuana use.
With Delaware considering legislation to legalize recreational marijuana use, Lynch said such a change could have a particularly damaging impact on young people. With marijuana illegal except for medical uses in Delaware, 70.3% of students 12 and older in Delaware who have used drugs say the first drug they used was marijuana, Lynch said. According to the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey in Delaware, 8.1% of all students said they has used marijuana in their lifetimes. Of those who said they used marijuana in the past 30 days, 5.9% said they had used it 40 or more times. Of the 9.1% of high school seniors who had used in the past 30 days, 13.3% said they had used it 40 or more times.
The biggest threat from today’s marijuana, Lynch said, is from its increased THC (the active ingredient). The THC level in today’s marijuana is three times as high (13% or more), compared to average THC levels of 3.96% in 1996. Lynch said some strains in Colorado have THC levels at 35% or higher.
With frequent use of marijuana, especially at a young age, Lynch said the detrimental health risks are ramped up dramatically. Studies show the risk of developing testicular cancer triples if a person began using marijuana before 18 and used it more than weekly.
Lynch said studies have shown that frequent marijuana use doubles the risk for stroke. And British studies published in Lancet found that daily use of the highest-potency marijuana increases the risk of psychosis by five times.
In 10 studies involving 66,000 individuals, Lynch said there is a higher relationship to mental illness and frequent marijuana use than testicular cancer. “There is a dose response relationship,” he said. With daily marijuana use, cannabis dependency increases 18 times and suicide attempts increase by seven times.
Even second-hand marijuana smoke can be a danger, Lynch said, with children coming into emergency rooms with THC levels in their blood after being around adults smoking marijuana.
The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a report on counseling parents and teens about marijuana use and issued this statement, “Marijuana is not a benign drug, especially for teens.” Read the report:
pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/139/3/e20164069