Before the pandemic, there was a rising concern locally about the increased use of vape products by area youth. Today, that concern has only magnified as the numbers of youth using not only vapes, but also CBD, THC, and other marijuana-based substances have risen even higher. What’s more, experts are still only scraping the surface of learning the negative effects the substance use has on the human brain in general, and more specifically, on an adolescent brain.
In an effort to bring some clarity to the situation, the Isanti County Substance Abuse Prevention and Recovery Coalition assembled a four-person panel discussion, “Busting the myths of THC and CBD.”
“We have seen such an increase in the different type of variations of our adolescents and our youth using marijuana or THC,” said Cambridge-Isanti Schools Chemical Health Specialist Charity Allen.
Allen said that in the last several years, there has been a noticeable switch from youth smoking marijuana to using liquid forms in vape cartridges.Â
“That has been a challenge because it is much easier to use,” she said. “It is convenient. It doesn’t have the smells that marijuana has. It’s quick for them to just take a quick hit and then they’re done.”
Along with that increase in use, Allen said an alarming increase in the number of bad reactions or overdoses to the use of such chemicals has occurred. School staff, especially nurses, have had to be trained on how to determine if a person is just sick or if they are having a negative reaction to something.
Allen referenced an incident approximately a year ago when four students required medical assistance after taking something that wound up including fentanyl in it. Shortly after that incident, the district was permitted to have Narcan available. Narcan is a prescription medicine used for the treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose.
Another troubling trend Allen noted was the age of the students getting caught with some sort of chemicals. She said of the violations during this school year, 49% were ninth-graders, 21% were 10th-graders, 22% were 11th-graders, and only 7% were seniors.
“There’s probably a variety of reasoning behind this,” she said. “The younger population may not be as savvy in hiding it. But also, we’re looking at these ninth-graders; this is the first year back in school since the pandemic.”
No matter what the age, though, Allen said if students get caught with some sort of chemical in school, this isn’t the first time they’ve used it.
JUST STICK WITH THE FACTS MA’AM
When she talks with students, Allen said, she tries to not just say “don’t do drugs.”
“I don’t think that approach works with adolescents, but I do give them facts and information.”
One of the unknowns is the increased level of THC that is present. She noted that back in the 1980s, smokable marijuana contained around 4% THC, which is what gets a person high and what is addictive. Today, that amount can range from around 20% in the smokable form to as high as 90% THC in the liquid form.
“It means we have a lot higher risk of addiction. It means that people are getting way stronger highs than they used to.”
“Not to make your job any harder, but recent research shows that vaping is disappearing and edibles (are) much more common,” said Judson “Kim” Bemis, founder of Gobi Support, an online youth addiction service. Bemis is also chair of Minnesota Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an organization that advocates for the use of medical marijuana and its decriminalization but is staunchly opposed to legalizing recreational marijuana.
“These companies are mimicking common products like Pop-Tarts, Oreos, etc., which is making it more complicated and more attractive to kids.”
What makes this even direr, Bemis stated, is new research that indicates a correlation between adolescent use of marijuana and psychosis. He added that compared to alcohol, where adolescent brains can eventually recover from overuse, recent research indicates that is not the case with marijuana, where there appears to be permanent damage.
Allen added that the use of gummies is also more dangerous because there is a delay in getting high, so many are taking more thinking it isn’t as effective, which leads to an overdose once it does kick in.
THE CONNECTION WITH CBD
CBD is the part of the marijuana plant that is non-addictive and doesn’t produce a high. It is also legalized, but it isn’t supposed to be edible, according to Bemis. It is only supposed to take the form of soaps or moisturizers. Additionally, Bemis states there is no scientific data to support the use of CBD.
“There is no scientific evidence to this point that CBD does anything,” he said. “There’s a lot of anecdotal evidence, and if it helps you, that’s fine. But the scientific evidence is that it is only, at this point, (beneficial) for two forms of childhood epilepsy.”
Bemis said one trial for using CBD as a pain medication was discontinued due to the placebos having a better effect than the drug.
Bemis added that Delta 8, which is a THC gummie, is supposed to be illegal under current Minnesota laws, however, it is openly advertised in many locations and especially online.
What makes this important, according to Bemis, is that CBD is only supposed to have .3% THC in CBD products. However, it is very hard to regulate that amount. Because of that, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture has been working toward clearing things up.
“The MDA just ruled that anything in an edible with CBD or THC is illegal,” said Minnesota Sen. Mark Koran, who was in the audience at the panel discussion. “In a month, they hope to have much more clarity to what that means. They’ve been doing cease-and-desists around the state, but it’s been inconsistent. But they’ve deemed anything that is edible is illegal and tried to clarify that.”
LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA
Making THC or marijuana in general more available to youths is just one argument against legalizing recreational marijuana. The regulation of marijuana, which is often an argument for legalization, is also difficult. According to Koran, only two labs in the state are willing to take on the task of testing medicinal marijuana to make sure it is safe.
“Minnesota has the highest standards to make sure of the purity of the product, and they even struggle to create the technology to accomplish that goal,” Koran said. “And I assume it would be the same with all of the CBDs, which we don’t test any of them today.”
According to Bemis, the legalizing of marijuana is exacerbating the regulating of it. He noted that in multiple states, black market sales are not only still going strong in order to avoid regulation and taxation, but they are causing legitimate businesses to close.
Traffic enforcement also becomes more difficult since less than an hour after taking it, THC is undetectable in a person’s system without a blood sample. Its effects last up to two hours.
“There isn’t a field sobriety test for smoking marijuana,” Bemis said. “But there’s been a lot of field testing that shows people who smoked marijuana have considerable driving impairments.”
Anyone who wishes to watch the entire one-hour panel discussion can do so by going to the Isanti Co SAPRC channel on YouTube under the title “Busting the myths: THC and CBD.
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