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(We are perpetually ‘told’ by pro-drug sociologists, that ALL TEENAGERS are ‘risk takers’ – it’s just brain physiology. Besides being an incredibly inaccurate global statement, it also depends on the psycho-social environments and whether or not exposure to Anthropological principles for resiliency building have been employed pre-teen, that will have influence on how that ‘teen’ perceives and/or chooses risk. We know now from brain science that drug use altars the perception of both risk and reward in the developing brain – Perception of reward goes UP and perception of risk goes down. This alone should be enough for any caring educator, leader, policy maker, parent to minimise engagement at ANY level with these drugs, including alcohol.
Remember, ‘Adolescence’ is a First World and very recent invention. Prior to 1940’s there was only ever the two demographics, that of child, then adult. Cultural informers, values depletion or ‘recalibration’, behavioural reinforcers or absence thereof, all influence decision making and consequent conduct. The science is in, the maturing brain can seek healthy reward via the pursuit of meaningful purpose, healthy relationships and investing in social capacity building enterprises, or it can pursue ‘rebellion’ and seek a short cut to a chemically induced ‘reward’ and destroy not only brain physiology, but capacity for healthy dignity and humanity enhancing contributions. The Pro-drug culture seems to want to ‘protect’ the ‘right’ of the ‘non-adult’ to pursue risk taking options that diminish both personal and community resiliency and productivity…So, the question is, where are you/we investing our ‘rights energies’ for our children?) – Dalgarno Institute
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cannabis concentrates, which are cannabis plant extracts that contain high concentrations of Δ-9-tetrahydrocannbinol (THC), have become increasingly popular among adults in the United States. However, no studies have reported on the prevalence or correlates of cannabis concentrate use in adolescents, who, as a group, are thought to be particularly vulnerable to the harms of THC.
METHODS: Participants are a racially and ethnically diverse group of 47 142 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students recruited from 245 schools across Arizona in 2018. Participants reported on their lifetime and past-month marijuana and cannabis concentrate use, other substance use, and risk and protective factors for substance use problems spanning multiple life domains (i.e., individual, peer, family, school, and community).
RESULTS: Thirty-three percent of all 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders reported lifetime cannabis use, and 24% reported lifetime concentrate use. Seventy-two percent of all lifetime cannabis users had used concentrates. Relative to adolescent cannabis users who had not used concentrates, adolescent concentrate users were more likely to use other substances and to experience more risk factors, and fewer protective factors, for substance use problems across numerous life domains.
CONCLUSIONS: Most adolescent cannabis users have used concentrates. Based on their risk and protective factor profile, adolescent concentrate users are at higher risk for substance use problems than adolescent cannabis users who do not use concentrates. Findings raise concerns about high-risk adolescents’ exposure to high-THC cannabis.
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Insufficient evidence exists for the use of medical cannabis for most conditions for which its use is advocated, but various US state governments recommended it for over 50 medical conditions, Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School found. The lack of evidence was separately confirmed by NICE in the UK.
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Weed is way too risky for developing brains
We do know that marijuana is a dangerous drug!
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Nearly one in four Arizona teens have used a highly potent form of marijuana known as marijuana concentrate, according to a new study by Arizona State University researchers.
Among nearly 50,000 eighth, 10th, and 12th graders from the 2018 Arizona Youth Survey, a biennial survey of Arizona secondary school students, one-third (33%) had tried some form of marijuana, and nearly a quarter (24%) had tried marijuana concentrate.
Marijuana concentrates have about three times more THC, the constituent of marijuana that causes the "high," than a traditional marijuana flower. This is concerning because higher doses of THC have been linked to increased risk of marijuana addiction, cognitive impairment and psychosis, said the study's lead researcher, Madeline Meier, an ASU assistant professor of psychology.
The research team also found that teens who used concentrates had more risk factors for addiction…They found that teens who had used marijuana concentrates were worse off on every addiction risk factor.
The study "Cannabis Concentrate Use in Adolescents," is published in the early online edition (Aug. 26, 2019) of Pediatrics.
The team…also found that teens who had used concentrates had much higher rates of e-cigarette use. One explanation for this might be that teens are using e-cigarettes to vape marijuana concentrate, according to Meier. Earlier studies, including those by Meier, have shown that youth put marijuana in e-cigarettes to conceal their marijuana use.
"Vaping marijuana can be passed off as nicotine vaping," Meier explained.
"What concerns me most is that parents might have no idea that their child is using marijuana, especially if their child is using marijuana concentrate," said Meier. "Marijuana is not harmless, particularly for adolescents."
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Canada was the second country in the world to legalize marijuana (Uruguay was the first). The legalizing act calls it “cannabis” of course. So much more genteel than marijuana, eh? “Cannabis” sounds scientific, well-researched – while marijuana sounds kind of louche and stoned, too close to low-rent, pejorative sobriquets like pot, weed, hash, grass, ganja, reefer et al.
But it’s still marijuana, and I still call it that, because the people who worked hardest to get it legalized did their best to bypass or suppress the actual scientific research that would have slowed legalization down or even stopped it.
Since legalization last October, usage has increased, as one might expect. In the first quarter of 2019, there were 646,000 new users, mostly male, mostly over age 45. Many of the new users are doubtless assuming that the government scrupulously and objectively investigated marijuana’s effects on human health, and that they can be confident no harms will come to them with moderate usage.
That is not the case. Unlike other substances like tobacco and alcohol, where complete transparency on scientific consensus has created hyper-awareness of their inherent perils in the population, marijuana is a substance so swathed in stakeholder propaganda and ideology that the average Canadian, bombarded by claims of pot’s harmlessness and/or therapeutic value, is steeped in ignorance of marijuana’s epidemiologically tracked physical and mental risks.
- Health effects of eating marijuana is subject of a new study
- Adults who mix cannabis with opioids for pain report higher anxiety, depression
- DOPE DISASTER: Legalising cannabis in the UK would fuel violent crime ....
- Self-reported Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Cannabis Use Among Women Before and During Pregnancy