Symptoms of psychosis are: paranoia, feelings of doom, irrational thoughts or behaviors, delusions, confusion, hearing voices or seeing people who are not there, and inability to communicate coherently.

Cannabis Induced Psychosis (CIP)  is listed in the DSM-5, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, a manual used by medical professionals for assessment and diagnosis.

The MomsStrong.org campaign is inspired by the unfortunate deaths of three young men. Founder, Lori Robinson, along with Sally Schindel and Ann Clark want the world to know their sons’ suicides are directly related to the mental health harms…caused by their sons’ marijuana use. The MomsStrong.org website is devoted to educating the world about the scientific research into cannabis-induced psychosis and features dozens of personal stories of mental health risks and harms of marijuana. You can read Shane’s, Brant’s and Andy’s stories on the Our Stories page.

MomsStrong warns:

Regular use of cannabis can increase the risk of psychosis and schizophrenia.

Young people are at greatest risk.

What the Science Tells Us

For more, see Summary of Literature on Marijuana and Psychosis on MomsStrong.org

Psychosis Testimonials

Support Groups

Marijuana Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share our experience, strength, and hope with each other that we may solve our common problem and help others to recover from marijuana addiction.

National Alliance on Mental Illness

Mar-Anon — Mar-Anon is a 12-Step program designed specifically for those who are affected by another’s marijuana use.

Every Brain Matters Community  Use this link to see the current list of meetings.

Take Action- 3 Things You Can Do

Why is the United States passively allowing the manufacture, sale, and use of Delta 8-THC, Delta 10-THC, and THC-O, all of which are harmful chemicals that may be even more damaging than nicotine/tobacco? Why is this happening in a supposedly science-based society? Could this be occurring because of loopholes in the 2018 Agriculture Bill?

Currently, hemp-derived CBD is being synthesized and converted into these chemicals, which are then made into different products for retail sale.¹ ² ³ We can see many of these products being advertised for sale online, in vape & smoke shops, gas stations, and convenience stores in almost every state. These items are even being marketed to children through the use of very inviting packaging and products, such as the all popular gummy bears. Luckily, some state authorities have decided to stop the sale of these products because health officials have identified that there is a potential for serious harm when using these chemicals.

The FDA even recently issued a warning about one of these synthetically produced chemicals, namely Delta 8-THC: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/5-things-know-about-delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol-delta-8-thc.

Currently, because CBD is very economical to procure, it is being used as a feedstock to synthesize these mind-altering substances using dangerous chemicals.

CBD turned into dangerous THC analogs

1. Delta 8-THC¹ — This chemical is being synthesized using CBD, an acid, and an organic solvent, such as toluene, which is usually used in the manufacture of paint products. This chemical exists naturally in cannabis plants but at very low levels; therefore, it must be synthesized for mass production.
2. Delta 10-THC² — This chemical was discovered by a random accident and resulted from the extraction and distillation of THC from marijuana plants that were exposed to a fire retardant used to combat a nearby forest fire. It too can be synthesized from CBD. This chemical does not occur naturally.
3. THC-O³ — This chemical is also being synthesized using not only CBD, an acid, and an organic solvent but by also using a very toxic chemical needed to complete the process. If synthesized from its nearest analog molecule, specifically Delta 9-THC, it can be made by using only the last step, specifically through the use of a very toxic chemical. It is three times more potent when compared to Delta 9-THC. This chemical also does not occur naturally.

The Basic Chemistry

CBD is considered a hydrocarbon molecule comprised of twenty-one carbon atoms, thirty hydrogen atoms, and two oxygen atoms. It can therefore be denoted as C₂₁H₃₀O₂. There are other molecules that have the exact same number of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms, and they are known as isomers.⁴

Both the Delta 8-THC and Delta 10-THC variants are isomers of CBD. Also, the naturally occurring and psychoactive Delta 9-THC in cannabis plants (hemp and marijuana) is an isomer of CBD. All of these variants thus have the same molecular formula, namely C₂₁H₃₀O₂. However, they are different structurally.⁵

A simple comparison to consider would be through the use of a chemical Lego® block model.⁶ For an example, a carbon atom could be represented by a red block, a hydrogen atom could be represented by a white block, and an oxygen atom could be represented by a blue block. For the CBD molecule, one could symbolically represent it by connecting twenty-one red blocks (C₂₁), thirty white blocks (H₃₀), and two blue blocks (Oâ‚‚) all together in a manner to represent its structural arrangement. Using the exact same number of blocks, differently shaped models could be made to represent Delta 8-THC, Delta 9-THC, and Delta 10-THC.

Chemistry allows for the alteration of CBD

In the example above, the CBD building block model would be altered structurally by one’s hands. In the world of chemistry, structural alterations to CBD can be facilitated through the use of different levels of temperature, various catalysts (in the form of an acid), and various organic solvents (such as toluene) into other molecules such as Delta-8, Delta-9, and Delta-10 THC.¹ ² There are also by-products formed after the structural transformation along with some residual acid and organic solvent.

In the FDA-regulated pharmaceutical world, the by-products and solvents are removed, and the acid is neutralized. However, few, if any, safeguards exist in the cannabis world because there is no regulatory oversight by the FDA.⁷

Keep in mind that the manner in which a molecule interacts and affects the human body and mind is dependent upon its atomic makeup, specifically the number and type of atoms present, and its structural arrangement.⁸ In the case of CBD and its isomers, the way that they can affect the body and mind can be traced back to how they interact with the receptors where they connect. A CBD molecule is molecularly the same but structurally different from the other variants of the THC molecule, hence they can each affect the body and mind in similar and/or completely different ways.

Delta 8-THC — Part 1

Delta 8-THC was first synthesized in 1967 by Israeli chemist Raphael Mechoulam.⁵ It exists naturally in cannabis plants, but only in very small (normally ~0.1%)¹ or in trace amounts.⁵ There was therefore a need to synthesize the molecule so that it could be studied in depth because of its rarity in cannabis plants.

The passage of the Hemp Bill and subsequent rush to cash in on this crop via the production of CBD has resulted in a glut of this chemical in the marketplace.¹â° However, it has been known for decades that CBD can be synthesized into other molecules, and one of those molecules is Delta 8-THC⁵, which can have reportedly similar but milder mind-altering effects as Delta 9-THC.¹¹

Multiple concerns arise when synthesizing Delta 8-THC from CBD. What is especially concerning is that it may not be processed in a manner that guarantees the safety of the consumer. Since a strong acid and an organic solvent such as toluene, which is normally used in paint products, can be used, the resulting product needs to be “washed” in a base, in order to neutralize any residual acid and any remaining organic solvent needs to be removed. There are also other by-products that may need to be removed, some of which are unknown. The reaction by-products can also include traces of Delta 9-THC. Given that there are few, if any, testing protocols and almost no regulatory oversight for this product, it is basically the “Wild West” for the consumer.⁷ ⁹ ¹²

Delta -8 compared to Delta -9 THC

Delta-8 THC is reportedly weaker in its effects when compared to Delta-9 THC, which has many unwanted side effects including cyclic nausea and vomiting, anxiety, and paranoia.¹³ ¹â´ Delta 9-THC can also trigger mental illnesses such as psychosis and schizophrenia, especially in teens.¹âµ Could these same side-effects, even if slightly milder, also apply to Delta-8 THC? Only time will tell, but anecdotally, the answer appears to be “yes”.

There is currently no scientific research about the long-term effects of Delta 8-THC use. Therefore, anyone who uses this product becomes an unwitting participant in a science experiment, an experiment that could result in addiction, mental illnesses, and/or bodily harms.

Editor’s Note: This is the first of three papers by Jesse LeBlanc, a mechanical engineer with experience in the chemical industry and a member of our Board of Directors. The article first appeared on the Every Brain Matters website.

References:

1: https://cen.acs.org/biological-chemistry/natural-products/Delta-8-THC-craze-concerns/99/i31

2: https://extractionmagazine.com/2020/03/21/the-bizarre-crystallization-of-%CE%B410-thc/

3: https://www.hempgrower.com/article/thc-o-acetate-q-and-a-dr-ethan-russo-credo-science/

4: https://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/ch12/isomers.php

5: https://www.who.int/medicines/access/controlled-substances/IsomersTHC.pdf

6: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/cti-2020-0017/html

7:https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/5-things-know-about-delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol-delta-8-thc

8: https://www.bayer.com/sites/default/files/110713-bayerpharma-brosch-en-web.pdf

9: https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/regulatory/experts-concerned-over-unstudied-compounds-delta-8-thc-products

10: https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/supply-chain/hemp-cbd-oversupply-has-farmers-questioning-their-2021-strategy

11: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/what-is-delta-8

12: https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2021/han00451.asp

13: https://www.cedars-sinai.org/health-library/diseases-and-conditions/c/cannabinoid-hyperemesis-syndrome.html

14: https://www.healthline.com/health/marijuana-paranoia 15: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/teens-who-smoke-pot-at-risk-for-later-schizophrenia-psychosis-201103071676

(Taken from Parent Opposed to Pot)

By Ben Johnson, an article which appeared on the Daily Wire as Going Green: The Physical, Mental and Emotional Problems Associated with Marijuana

In an era when the Left obsessively fights against “misinformation,” at least one subject has evaded their concern: Although scientific studies indicate that marijuana is associated with profound mental illnesses, emotional problems, and physical diseases, a shocking number of Americans believe that weed is harmless or helpful – possibly even a natural cure for cancer.

The media frequently parrot the talking points of billionaires George Soros, Peter Lewis, and John Sperling, who spent an estimated $71.3 million between 1996 and 2016 to promote drug legalization, in the process creating the image of marijuana as a benign natural remedy. Websites like Vox.com promote that narrative, telling readers, “Overall, marijuana is a relatively safe drug. … marijuana’s harms appear to be relatively small.”  Media malpractice has led to a new pandemic of Americans ingesting increasingly high-potency marijuana, unaware of the consequences.

Billionaires changed the public perception

After a precipitous fall during the “Just Say No” era of the 1980s, marijuana use has been rising, especially among America’s young people. In 1992, the number of children between the ages of 12 to 17 who had used marijuana in the last month stood at 4%. In 2019, that rate more than doubled, to 9%, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a large part of that has been the push for drug legalization/decriminalization begun that year by George Soros. After Colorado legalized recreational marijuana in 2014, the number of total users increased by nearly two-thirds.

Positive public relations help the marijuana industry

Marijuana’s positive PR has proven particularly successful among the most desperate and vulnerable Americans. Almost one in four breast cancer victims smokes marijuana, and “49% of cannabis users believed that medical cannabis could be used to treat cancer itself,” according to a new study published by the American Cancer Society. A separate study found that 80% of “high-impact articles” on social media “were false news that proposed cannabis as cancer cure.”

Psychological illnesses emerge as a result of marijuana use

That should be concerning for a panoply of reasons, since numerous studies show that marijuana use can harm people in (at least) the following ways:

Psychosis and schizophrenia: Several studies have found that smoking marijuana may trigger mental illnesses, including psychoses like schizophrenia, especially in people already predisposed to develop them. “[C]annibis use, primarily THC in cannabis, in genetically predisposed or at-risk populations, leads to earlier diagnosis of psychosis/schizophrenia,” found a systematic review of existing research conducted by Shweta Patel and colleagues, and published at the peer-reviewed Cureus Journal of Medical Science. “THC in cannabis also makes schizophrenia and psychosis symptoms worse and causes more relapses and hospitalizations.”

Theirs was one of numerous studies linking mental illness to marijuana consumption. “Ten studies [have] found a significant risk of young cannabis users developing psychosis,” reported the Scientific American in 2017. “Cannabis use during puberty is a major risk factor for schizophrenia,” said Hannelore Ehrenreich of the Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine at the 2017 World Psychiatric Association’s World Congress. Robin Murray, a professor of psychiatry at King’s College in London, found that nearly one out of every four cases of schizophrenia he researched involved the use of high-potency marijuana. There is a “strong association of cannabis use with the onset of psychiatric disorders,” the American Psychiatric Association summarized in 2019.

Pot use increases anxiety and paranoia

Anxiety and other psychological issues: Ironically, although many people use marijuana to reduce anxiety, it may make the problem worse. A 2017 study found, in the words of Psychology Today, that smoking marijuana “increased feelings of paranoia, anxiety, visual illusions, strangeness, inattention and slowed time, as well as poor performance on tasks related to memory and response inhibition.” The culprit is THC, which “appears to decrease anxiety at lower doses and increase anxiety at higher doses,” according to the University of Washington’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute. The potential for harm has increased, as the mean THC concentration of marijuana nearly doubled between 2008 and 2017.

Socio-economic problems multiply with pot

Shorter life expectancy: Men who used marijuana heavily in their teen years are 40% more likely to die by the time they reach the age of 60, according to a massive study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. “Swedish researchers analyzed the records of more than 45,000 men beginning in 1969 and 1970,” reported CBS News. “The scientists from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm reported that 4,000 died during the 42-year follow-up period, and men who’d used marijuana heavily at ages 18 and 19 were 40 percent more likely to die by age 60 compared to guys who hadn’t used the drug.” Their findings upended previous studies that found no such linkage.

Becoming poorer, with more relationship problems: Regular marijuana users end up in “a lower social class than their parents, with lower-paying, less skilled, and less prestigious jobs. They also experience more financial problems, more problems at work, and more relationship difficulties,” according to a study that followed 1,000 regular marijuana users from age 18 to 38.  Individuals who reported “regular cannabis use and persistent dependence experienced downward socioeconomic mobility, more financial difficulties, workplace problems, and relationship conflict in early midlife,” according to Magdalena Cerdá of the University of California-Davis, Health System, and Avshalom Caspi and Terrie Moffitt at Duke University, whose study appeared in Clinical Psychological Science, the peer-reviewed journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Pot triggers loss of memory and brain aging

Memory problems, and brain aging: Regular marijuana users had a harder time remembering new information, according to a team of researchers who studied nearly 3,400 American marijuana users over a 25-year period. Marijuana usage can reduce decision-making ability, memory, and psychical control in the short term, and some negative effects may persist for life.

Harvard Medical School explained that “there’s no question that marijuana … can produce short-term problems with thinking, working memory, executive function, and psychomotor function (physical actions that require conscious thought, such as driving a car or playing a musical instrument). This is because marijuana’s main psychoactive chemical, THC, causes its effect by attaching to receptors in brain regions that are vital for memory formation, including the hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebral cortex.” While the full effect of long-term use is unknown, a 2016 UC-San Francisco study found that even past use of marijuana made people less likely to remember words in adulthood.

After examining 62,454 brain scans, researchers found that cannabis abuse accelerated brain aging by 2.8 years, a contributing factor to developing Alzheimer’s Disease, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. “Prior papers have suggested that marijuana can damage the brain. What surprised [us] was how low blood flow was in the brains of our cohort — virtually every brain area had reduced blood flow on perfusion imaging in relation to marijuana use,” said Dr. Cyrus Raji, who co-authored the study.

Marijuana use causes specific serious physical diseases

Lung diseases like asthma and bronchitis: “Marijuana smoking is associated with large airway inflammation, increased airway resistance,” according to a synthesis of scholarly research produced by the U.S. government’s National Institute on Drug Abuse, “and those who smoke marijuana regularly report more symptoms of chronic bronchitis than those who do not smoke.” NIDA also cited studies showing that marijuana may suppress the body’s immune system, increasing the chances of developing pneumonia and chronic bronchitis.

Testicular cancer: Several studies have found a positive correlation between marijuana use and the development of testicular cancer, especially among “heavy” users who had smoked pot at least 50 times in their lives. One review of scholarly literature cautions the existing evidence is “low-strength,” because so many marijuana users also smoke cigarettes – but they still find weed inhalation increases the likelihood of developing testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT).

Other cognitive functions decline with pot use

Possibly lowers intelligence: Some evidence indicates that marijuana use decreases the intelligence of people who take it. The most consequential study comes from New Zealand (the Dunedin study), where researchers followed marijuana users from age 18 to 38 and found that people who began using marijuana in adolescence lost between six and eight points from their IQ — and quitting does not reverse the intelligence lost. Future studies disputed this somewhat, as researchers discovered cannabis users “already had significantly lower IQ scores. Put another way, cannabis did not drag down their IQ; it was already low.” To put that colloquially, researchers are now pursuing the chicken-and-egg question of whether adolescent marijuana use makes people stupid or if stupid people choose to use marijuana.

Inability to feel joy: Researchers warn about higher THC levels causing cannabis-induced “anhedonia” – a medical term which means the “inability to feel pleasure” in Greek. “Over years, the regular use of cannabis has substantially increased among young adults, as indicated by the rise in cannabis use disorder (CUD), with an estimated prevalence of 8.3% in the United States,” said a March 2021 study in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Psychology. “Research shows that exposure to cannabis is associated with hypodopaminergic anhedonia (depression), cognitive decline, poor memory, inattention, impaired learning performance, reduced dopamine brain response-associated emotionality, and increased addiction severity in young adults.”

On the other hand, researchers in Canada found a marked increase in “emergency department consultations for cannabis-related mood disorders, as well as suicide and intentional self-harm” after the nation legalized recreational marijuana in October 2018. This may stem from marijuana’s addictive components altering the person’s approach to the brain’s reward circuitry after a flood of dopamine.

False memories fuel misinformation

Creating false memories: Any media interested in combating misinformation would condemn the rising rate of marijuana use, since “[c]annabis seems to increase false-memory proneness,” according to a March 2020 study from The Netherlands.

Marijuana use harms non-users, too

Innocent bystanders: Although drug use is often presented as a personal decision, the harm caused by marijuana extends beyond the user alone. Aside from the toll of innocent victims when marijuana users drive under the influence, the American Lung Association warns, “Secondhand marijuana smoke contains many of the same toxins and carcinogens found in directly-inhaled marijuana smoke, in similar amounts if not more.” Their biggest concern is about “vulnerable children in the home.”

Contrary to MSNBC and CNN hand-wringers, the real disinformation comes from paid propagandists, scientists on the take, and billionaires who (for whatever reason) are promoting a drug that appears to inhibit Americans from exercising the cognitive functions necessary to be independent citizens. The effort to whitewash drug abuse is typical in a world that demands pleasure with no consequence. But that world doesn’t exist – a fact too many people find out too late.

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment.  (Editor’s Note:  Parents Opposed to Pot does not identify with conservative or liberal politics, because deliberate misinformation comes from both sides of the aisle. Its principals and followers include independents and people who belong to both political parties. )

Taken with permission from Going Green: The Physical, Mental, And Emotional Problems Associated With Marijuana – Parents Opposed to Pot (poppot.org)

NOVA PBS The Cannabis Question Fraught with Conflict of Interests — Soros and Koch influences over program downplay the harms of cannabis.

MERRIFIELD, VIRGINIA, USA, October 14, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ – Parents Opposed to Pot (PopPot.org) calls out PBS’s science program NOVA, The Cannabis Question, for using Koch funding and Soros-funded sources when claiming to objectively explore cannabis science. NOVA’s documentary film aired on September 29, downplaying the major risks of marijuana, without mentioning the conflicts of interests of several featured “experts.”

This bias breaches the public trust in PBS and NOVA. “It is well established that marijuana can cause psychosis, ” explains Aubree Adams, Director of EveryBrainMatters.org, a project of PopPot.org.

There were no interviews with the doctors from the International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis (IASIC). Instead, the television program gave prominence to Dr. Staci Gruber, part of The Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation, launched in 2021 “with the purpose of influencing policy and potentially shaping the first federal cannabis regulations.” Her coalition includes corporate interests such as alcohol and tobacco companies.

At the beginning Gruber stated that policy should be informed by data and science, an irony considering that the program failed to explore the conclusions of the 2017 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine on The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids.” The show doesn’t mention the comprehensive medical text published by Springer Press in 2020 on the topic Cannabis in Medicine: An Evidence-Based Approach.

One brief interview was with Dr. Nora Volkow, the director of National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Volkow said that many people end up with marijuana-induced psychosis. However, the filmmaker chose to skip over the very important science on psychosis and its irrefutable connection to cannabis. The film also neglected to cover EVALI (the vaping illnesses related to THC), Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome, the types of cancer associated with cannabis, and negative impacts on heart and lung functions.

While focusing on the story of a veteran with PTSD arrested for using marijuana, the program didn’t delve into research on marijuana for PTSD. A large, long-term study of American veterans by Wilkinson et al. found that “initiating marijuana use after treatment was associated with worse PTSD symptoms, more violent behavior, and alcohol use.”

The film featured Kassandra Frederique, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, funded by George Soros to promote the legalization of all drugs. Although David Koch Foundation for Science funds NOVA, the program veered away from science into criminal justice, claiming that arrests for marijuana are more harmful than adverse outcomes of cannabis use, an opinion with which we strongly disagree. A psychotic break from a marijuana-induced psychosis sometimes results in severe, lifelong mental illness or early death.

For the program to claim that not enough research has been done on THC and CBD is disproven by clinicaltrials.gov which publishes hundreds of studies funded by National Institute of Health (NIH) . This research is in addition to the multitude of research conducted overseas, in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere, particularly notable in terms of rigorous epidemiological investigations of harmful side effects of cannabis use.

NOVA PBS chose a biased moderator for a follow-up Internet Q & A on October 7. Our questions about the links between marijuana and psychotic disorders, violence and addiction to other drugs were ignored in favor of questions pushing an agenda. “Every day I speak to families whose children have been tragically harmed by cannabis,” says Aubree Adams. She continues, “NOVA’s The Cannabis Question needs to broadcast their voices.”

Parents Opposed to Pot, a 501c3 non-profit based in Merrifield, VA, “bursts the bubble of the marijuana hype” and represents families who have been harmed by the false notion that marijuana is safe. Visit the website, PopPot.org, email [email protected] or call 773-322-7523 for more information.

This column appeared in the Columbus Dispatch last week.

I received the worst news a parent can get nine years ago: my 22-year-old daughter had been killed in a car crash.

Even more heartbreaking was the fact that my daughter’s death could have been avoided if the other driver hadn’t been high on marijuana.

With stories like mine becoming tragically more common, we must reassess and slow the rapid expansion of the marijuana industry.

Last week, the House of Representatives voted to include the deceptively named SAFE Banking Act in the National Defense Authorization Act.

This bill would permit pot companies to accept significant investments from corporations that only have one concern: profit. These corporations, who growingly consist of tobacco and alcohol companies, care nothing about the victims of marijuana-impaired driving like my daughter.

In fact, a high return on investment for these corporations depends on the misuse of this drug, even when it leads to tragedy.

Additionally, despite myriad reports of product contamination and illegitimate financial practices within marijuana dispensaries, SAFE Banking is now making its way to the Senate.

There may be one member, though, who can prevent the SAFE Banking Act from becoming law, and that’s Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio.

Senator Brown can make a difference

Brown, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, understands that real progress in marijuana policy reform means fighting for social justice, not lining the pockets of venture capitalists. He recently said that ​​reform on this front is “not just taking care of the banking industry and that industry, it’s making sure that we do sentencing reform at the same time or it’s not going to happen without it.”

Going further, in 2015 Brown expressed that he had serious concerns with expanding marijuana legalization here in Ohio saying, “it’s a step that we should take with great caution.” Given my experience, I couldn’t agree further

As a mom, it’s hard for me to understand why some lawmakers want to spur rapid and unlimited growth in this industry without considering its dire consequences. Pot shops advertise colorful marijuana-infused gummies that are attractive to kids.

Nationwide, dispensaries market marijuana vapes that contain high potency THC. In fact, the average levels of THC today compared to 1995 is the same as comparing hard liquor to a light beer. And what are the results? Addicted teenagers, contaminated products and high drivers who crash and kill people like my daughter.

No matter how much I want to, I can’t bring my daughter back. That doesn’t mean that other lives can’t be saved. The SAFE Banking Act will only serve to bolster an industry that aims to recruit new, heavy users to drive their bottom line. It is without a doubt that some of those users will get behind the wheel while high. Traffic deaths involving a driver high on marijuana more than doubled from 2013 to 2018 in Colorado, and the American Automobile Association (AAA) found similar increases in Washington state.

SAFE Banking Act

SAFE Banking will do nothing to provide racial, economic or criminal justice to the communities that have been impacted the most by the war on drugs.

If justice was the main priority of this industry, they would not be lobbying hard to pass a banking bill before any equity-based laws. This bill makes the rich richer at the expense of minority communities and of those who are affected by the consequences of unsafe marijuana use, like my daughter.

I sincerely hope Brown uses his power as the Banking Committee chairman to prevent the SAFE Banking Act from advancing. Keep my daughter in mind when considering this issue.

If SAFE Banking is passed, families like mine will only experience more tragedy.

Parents Opposed to Pot has taken on as a project Corinne’s website devoted to informing of the dangers of driving high, jennifersmessengers.com .

MomsStrong.org recently reprinted the latest The Marijuana Report newsletter, which details the history of marijuana legalization in the U.S., and some of the negative outcomes identified by government surveys and reports. As politicians and citizens alike remain asleep and unaware on this issue, the steady rollout of the pot profiteers and their greedy plan continues. To understand history is to mount an adequate resistance. PopPot urges our readers to take the time to not only read, but disseminate this article!

The Timeline of Marijuana Rollout in the U.S. Exposed by the Marijuana Report

Reprinted with permission of Moms Strong and The Marijuana Report See original 9/15/2021 Newsletter here.

Are scientists missing the forest for the trees?

Last week, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study by DM Anderson and colleagues, scientists from universities in Montana, Spain, and San Diego, California. The study finds that legalization does not increase adolescent marijuana use. The researchers analyzed the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began conducting in 1991.

Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS)

YRBSS collects data from high school students every two years about behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence, sexual behaviors related to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, alcohol and other drug use, tobacco use, unhealthy dietary behaviors, and inadequate physical activity. Not all states participate in YRBSS, and those that do participate periodically, although in the 2019 YRBSS all but five states did so. Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington State have never participated in YRBSS. The survey asks three questions about marijuana: ever use, current use, and what age students were when they started using marijuana. It began asking about vapor product use in 2015, but never asks what students are vaping.

So far as these limited data are concerned, the researchers’ findings seem true. But two other national surveys show us something more…

Read the full article, The Timeline of Marijuana Rollout in the U.S. Exposed by the Marijuana Report on MomsStrong.org

Editors Note: The Marijuana Report is a project of National Families in Action. Visit their website at NationalFamilies.org.