BIG DEAL HOW MARIJUANA HARMS YOUTH

Transcription

1 It s a BIG DEAL HOW MARIJUANA HARMS YOUTH

2 You ve got better things to do than use weed Really, you do. And guess what? A lot of teens who get hooked say they wish theyʼd never started. Weed takes up a lot of their time. They smoke it instead of doing homework, playing sports or hanging out with their family and friends the kind of friends you donʼt have to light up with to keep. Teens smoke and often eat weed more and more because they get addicted. At first, they think they re cool. They think theyʼre funny. They think theyʼre really smart. But soon, they care more about weed than pretty much anything and anyone else. Old best friends are lost to new "friends" who smoke weed. School, sports and family no longer seem important. The only thing that seems to matter is when theyʼll light up next. They laugh at warnings like the one youʼre reading. They think they know better. But here s what they re usually the last to know: Marijuana messes with: Your mind The human brain doesnʼt fully develop until about age 25. If you start smoking weed while your brain is still maturing, you can permanently damage your brain s wiring. And some of the effects of brain damage wonʼt surface until youʼre much older. Marijuana users harm their memory, learning capacity and ability to make decisions. Using weed makes you less attentive and more impulsive, which can lead to actions that further harm yourself and others. Marijuana use can result in acute and chronic psychosis a condition that can cause hallucinations and delusions even long after you stop using the drug. Research shows marijuana use increases a personʼs chances of developing schizophrenia in early adulthood. Your body Marijuana is addictive, and smoking it at a young age increases your chances of getting addicted. Marijuana use is consistently one of the top reasons young people in Kansas get addiction treatment. A lot of teens have learned the hard way that using weed disrupts your coordination and balance. Use marijuana, and the likelihood of being in and being responsible for car crashes increases. Thereʼs also the risk of heart attack, which is five times higher in the hour after smoking weed. Marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more cancer-causing agents than tobacco smoke and is linked to respiratory problems and different kinds of cancer. Use weed, and youʼll be more likely to have risky sex, which can result in sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancy. Long-term marijuana use can harm your babyʼs development during pregnancy or prevent you from having kids at all. Your future Young people who smoke weed are more likely to drop out of high school and/or college. If youʼre caught using marijuana, you can lose your college scholarships and grants. Without an education, your income will likely be less than someone who has finished high school and/or college. If you smoke marijuana, you will be more likely to be unemployed or welfare dependent, and you'll have a greater chance of feeling less satisfied with relationships and life than people who don't smoke weed. Learn more about these facts and other reasons why you've got better things to do than use weed at

3 Marijuana: It s a Big Deal When it comes to kids, marijuana is a very big deal. It is an addictive drug that is especially harmful to young people. But guess where your child is most likely to get marijuana for the first time? From someone they know. It's going to be one of his or her friends. One of his or her family members. It might even be you. Ignorance, ambivalence and indifference cost all of us especially your family. Before deciding that smoking pot is no big deal, consider: Marijuana today is up to 10 times more potent than pot used in the ʼ60s, ʼ70s and ʼ80s. 1 6 in Today, one in six people under the age of 18 who tries marijuana becomes addicted to it. Children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to addiction because they are in the midst of crucial stages of brain development. Reputable scientific studies have shown that marijuana is more addictive than alcohol. Marijuana, not alcohol, is the number one reason children and adolescents are admitted for substance-dependence treatment in Kansas and the United States. The three primary contributors to substance abuse and addiction in households and the larger community are: Accessibility of the substance Social acceptance of the substanceʼs use The perceived risk of harmfulness 10 times No. 1 The more accessible and socially acceptable marijuana is in your child's world, the lower his or her understanding of its harmfulness will be. That's usually when trouble starts. Since 2008, the number of 10th and 12th graders using marijuana in the last 30 days has increased 20 percent. The number of Kansas youth that have a close friend who uses marijuana has also increased seven percent in that time. Additionally, there has been a 52 percent increase in the number of students who say there is no risk to using marijuana regularly. Brought to you by Kansas Family Partnership, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting positive youth behaviors through education, networking and advocacy. For details about this marijuana information and other facts about why it's a big deal, visit or call

4 The human brain isn t fully mature until roughly the age of 25. That means children and adolescents are in stages of brain growth and development that leave them especially vulnerable to problems caused by drug use, abuse and addiction. When someone says it s not that big of a deal for kids to smoke a little weed, don t believe them. Marijuana is addictive, and 1 in 6 people who try it before the age of 18 develops a clinical diagnosis of marijuana abuse or dependence. Marijuana use is a risk factor for: Poor school performance and dropout Risky sexual behavior resulting in disease transmission and teen pregnancy Aggression Anxiety Accidents causing death Psychosis The growing adolescent brain In adolescence, the brain works hard to become more efficient. It prunes unnecessary synapses, or connections, and it myelinates, or grows little fat cells, to make nervous impulses travel more effectively. Studies show that drug use and abuse during this critically important phase of development can have negative, lifelong effects, including impaired cognition and memory. Source: Paul Thompson, Ph.D., UCLA School of Medicine How the brain matures The color blue indicates maturity. Other colors indicate immaturity. The part of our brain that craves pleasure matures much earlier than the area that controls our ability to understand risks and consequences. The brain matures from the bottom up and from the back to the front. That s a pattern of development important to understand. Why? Because it means the parts of our brain that drive our desire to seek pleasure, rewards, thrills and adventure outpace development of the areas that are responsible for judgment and recognizing consequences. In other words, the adolescent brain craves pleasure and doesn t know how to weigh risks or say enough is enough. That s why youth are more likely than adults to become addicted to drugs. Today s marijuana is more potent RISING THC LEVELS The marijuana smoked today is more addictive than ever. For decades, the level of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), marijuana s active ingredient, averaged 2.3 percent. Today, marijuana s average THC level exceeds 8 percent and often reaches 35 percent in certain hybrids. These high levels of THC typically result from marijuana growers manipulation and modification of the plant much like tobacco companies manipulation of the nicotine content of cigarettes to make their products stronger. Underscoring marijuana s potency and potential harmfulness to adolescents is this: abuse of the drug is the No. 1 reason why adolescents are admitted for substance-abuse treatment in the United States. Approximately 67 percent of adolescent admissions are for marijuana dependence, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In Kansas, 78% of youth under the age of 18 who are admitted for substance abuse treatment are admitted for marijuana use.

5 How marijuana undermines student learning Marijuana use has acute (meaning up to 6 hours), sub-acute (6 hours to 20 days) and long-term (more than 20 days) effects. So even if a youth isn t currently using the drug, his or her ability to learn and interact successfully at school could be compromised for extended periods of time. If Teens Didn t Use Marijuana Before Age 18, There Would Be... 17% 5% 3% Fewer High School Dropouts Fewer College Non-Attendees Fewer College Dropouts Source: Fergusson et al., 2010 Long-term, regular users who start smoking the drug before the age of 18 often develop changes in their brain s structure and functioning that result in permanent cognitive deficits. If Teens Didn t Use Marijuana, Essentially, Before Age they 18, There can create Would for Be... themselves a level of normal performance that is at a lower functioning capacity than the level of normal performance they may have achieved had they not used marijuana. Deficits can be found even long after a person has stopped using the drug. 17% More For example, High research School Completion has found that marijuana users experience a loss of verbal intelligence, which measures the ability to analyze information and solve problems using language. 5% More University Attendance Studies show that when marijuana users are intoxicated, their working memory is impaired, and they are more impulsive, less attentive, less motivated and slower to make decisions. 3% More College Graduates Marijuana users withdrawing from the drug are often aggressive and irritable, which can Source: Fergusson et al., 2010 contribute to bad decision-making. For adolescents, the impaired performance and decision-making that stem from marijuana use increase the risk of school dropout. A study published in 2010 that followed more than 6,300 New Zealand children to adulthood found that people who did not smoke marijuana before the age of 18 were nearly four times more likely to earn a high school degree and graduate from college than a person who started smoking before the age of 15. What contributes to marijuana use? Three Major Things: The more available a drug is, the more socially acceptable it is to use it, and the less harm the drug is perceived to have, the more likely teens are to use it. Availability of the drug The 2011 Monitoring the Future study, which surveyed 47,000 students in grades 8, 10 and 12, reported an increase in marijuana use among teens for the Social norms surrounding the drug s use fourth straight year. This is in sharp contrast to the considerable decline that Perceived harmfulness of the drug had occurred in the preceding decade. Daily marijuana use is now at a 30-year peak level among high school seniors, according to the survey. Compared to adolescents in the previous year, youth surveyed in 2011 also reported that accessing marijuana has become easier, that they are less likely to disapprove of their friends marijuana use and that marijuana is less harmful including regular use. It s also important to note that numerous studies show adolescents are especially influenced by media and that marijuana is advertised in places youth often frequent, including thousands of online websites and alternative newspapers and magazines. How to help prevent drug use & dependence in children It s never too early to start having age-appropriate conversations with kids about drugs. Elementary school students Help them understand self-control and how to deal with their emotions positively. Help them understand how to solve social problems effectively. Provide academic support, especially with reading. Middle school and high school students Keep the lines of communication open, and periodically explain that drug use is unhealthy and unwise and that it isn t allowed. Help children build self-esteem and self-confidence through good study habits and academic performance and through healthy, prosocial activities. Encourage them to build healthy, positive friendships, and remind them that not all kids try drugs.

6 ! Warning signs of a worsening problem Marijuana use is rising In 2012, 0.9 percent of 6th graders, 5.4 percent of 8th graders, 14 percent of 10th graders and 18.6 percent of 12th graders reported using marijuana at least once in the last month. Use has increased among Kansas 10th and 12th graders since 2008, with only a slight drop in the 2012 data. Perception of marijuana s harmfulness is decreasing The percentage of students who believe there is no risk to using marijuana regularly increased from 2011 to 2012 in all age groups. Since 2008, there has been a 51 percent increase in the belief held by 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th graders that marijuana isn t harmful. According to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, youth nationwide were less likely to perceive great risk for smoking marijuana than for other listed substances. Friends who use marijuana Increasing numbers of Kansas students report they have friends who smoke marijuana. The 2012 Kansas Communities That Care survey data indicate 4.8 percent of 6th graders, 18.7 percent of 8th graders, 42.5 percent of 10th graders and 51.8 percent of 12th graders have close friends who use marijuana. Since 2008, there has been a 7 percent increase in students who report that of their four best friends, at least one of them smokes marijuana. Marijuana is easier to get In 2012, 2.4 percent of 6th graders, 11.7 percent of 8th graders, 32.4 percent of 10th graders and 42 percent of 12th graders report that marijuana is very easy to get. The belief that marijuana is easy to get has increased by 10% since Source: 2012 Kansas Communities That Care Survey The marketing of marijuana What youth hear, see and believe about marijuana influences their use of the drug. As more states have permitted marijuana to be sold as medicine for various conditions, adolescent use has increased. Responsible adults and parents know it s important to get the facts from credible, reputable sources supplying evidence-based information. Past experience with marijuana is not enough, and news stories can be erroneous and misleading. Legislative action can be compromised by well-funded, special interests. No major medical association is in favor of smoked marijuana for widespread, medical use. Marijuana is not an approved medicine under the Food and Drug Administration s scientific review process, and the FDA has not found smoked marijuana to be either safe or effective medicine for any condition. Go Online for More Information Find a more detailed fact sheet and other resources about marijuana s effects on adolescents at Credits Funding: Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services/ Addiction and Prevention Services Content and Design: Media Salad Fresh market intelligence, expertly prepared This material may be reproduced and distributed only in its entirety. SOURCES Eric. A. Voth, M.D., FACP Chairman, Institute on Global Drug Policy, an internationally recognized drug-policy think tank Dr. Voth is an internist and former director of a chemical dependency unit. He has advised every United States presidential administration since President Reagan. Dr. Voth also has served on the National Advisory Committee for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Christian Thurstone, M.D. Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Denver Attending Physician, Denver Health & Hospital Authority Dr. Thurstone is a general, child and adolescent and addictions psychiatrist, who serves as medical director of the Substance Abuse Treatment Education and Prevention program (STEP) at Denver Health & Hospital Authority. STEP is one of Colorado s largest youth substance-abuse treatment clinics. Dr. Thurstone also serves as an associate professor at the University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center, where he conducts federally funded research about treatment for marijuana addiction.