Marijuana risks
Drug use increases the risks of mental illness and deaths.
As of mid-August of last year, there were 63 near deaths and 6 deaths of children. In 2021 there were 70 cases for the entire year, a 35 percent increase over the previous year.
Why the increase?
According to reports from Texas, one of the few states to provide detailed information on drug use by perpetrators, cannabis is associated with a disturbing number of child deaths from abuse and neglect, many more than alcohol, and other drug use combined.
As of mid-August of last year, there were 63 near deaths and 6 deaths of children. In 2021 there were 70 cases for the entire year, a 35 percent increase over the previous year.
Why the increase?
According to reports from Texas, one of the few states to provide detailed information on drug use by perpetrators, cannabis is associated with a disturbing number of child deaths from abuse and neglect, many more than alcohol, and other drug use combined.
I served on the Adult Use Cannabis Task Force. What was repeated many times was that there was a lot we do not know about the effects of the long-term use of marijuana.
What we do know about the risks is alarming.
A mountain of peer-reviewed research in top medical journals shows that marijuana can cause or worsen severe mental illness, especially psychosis, the medical term for a break from reality.
The National Academy of Medicine found in 2017 that "cannabis use is likely to increase the risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychoses; the higher the use, the greater the risk."
Cannabis users today are consuming a drug that is far more potent than ever before, as measured by the amount of THC, the chemical in cannabis responsible for its psychoactive effects.
In the 1970s, most marijuana contained less than two percent THC. Today, marijuana routinely contains 20 to 25 percent THC, due to sophisticated farming and cloning techniques, as well as a demand by users for cannabis that produces a stronger high more quickly.
In 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System reported that drugs were present in 43% of the fatally-injured drivers with a known test result. Over one-third (36.5 percent) of the identified drugs were marijuana in some form.
We are fighting a drug death epidemic. We are looking at fatal and near-fatal child abuse cases.
What we know about the dangers should have convinced us that the risk was too high to pursue legalization in Delaware. But the Democrats ignored the dangers associated with legalizing recreational marijuna and celebrated its passage into law.
What we do know about the risks is alarming.
A mountain of peer-reviewed research in top medical journals shows that marijuana can cause or worsen severe mental illness, especially psychosis, the medical term for a break from reality.
The National Academy of Medicine found in 2017 that "cannabis use is likely to increase the risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychoses; the higher the use, the greater the risk."
Cannabis users today are consuming a drug that is far more potent than ever before, as measured by the amount of THC, the chemical in cannabis responsible for its psychoactive effects.
In the 1970s, most marijuana contained less than two percent THC. Today, marijuana routinely contains 20 to 25 percent THC, due to sophisticated farming and cloning techniques, as well as a demand by users for cannabis that produces a stronger high more quickly.
In 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System reported that drugs were present in 43% of the fatally-injured drivers with a known test result. Over one-third (36.5 percent) of the identified drugs were marijuana in some form.
We are fighting a drug death epidemic. We are looking at fatal and near-fatal child abuse cases.
What we know about the dangers should have convinced us that the risk was too high to pursue legalization in Delaware. But the Democrats ignored the dangers associated with legalizing recreational marijuna and celebrated its passage into law.