How the Legalization of Marijuana Impacts Adolescents

Source: Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

As marijuana is legalized across America, parents of teenagers need to be aware of the negative consequences that the use of THC can have on their child. Recreational marijuana is currently legal in at least 19 states, including Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey; medical marijuana is legal in 36 states. Marijuana is easier to access than ever before and is, at most, no farther than a state line away.

On top of that, our societal perception of marijuana has shifted dramatically. Some people now view marijuana as natural, herbal, and safe in high doses and on a consistent basis. This is alarming, particularly for parents of adolescents, because cannabis is the drug for which teens most often require treatment. These factors combine to create a terrifying atmosphere for teenagers: Early statistics demonstrate that the number of adolescents needing rehabilitative treatment in states where marijuana is legal is increasing. The age limit doesn’t seem to matter: In states where marijuana has been legalized for those over 21 years of age, we are seeing a 25% increase in addiction issues among 12-17 year-olds.

There are a few things that parents need to know about the marijuana that teens are exposed to today. Whether or not you yourself are or were a cannabis user, this is not the same substance that you may have been exposed to in the past. In 1969, at Woodstock, the average marijuana had a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) potency of 1%. (THC is the psychoactive component.) Products containing THC today can be up to 200% stronger. Since 2008, the concentration of THC in any marijuana product has gone from 8.9% to 17.1%. In the oil that is most often used for vaping, the concentration of THC is 55% higher than it was before 2008. Marijuana products range from 1% THC in a marijuana flower to 500 mg THC in pot brownies and 60-80% to greater than 90% THC concentrates in vape oil.

None of these marijuana products are automatically safe. Think about how we consider concentration when it comes to alcohol — for instance, we know that a shot is a more heavily concentrated serving of alcohol than a glass of wine or a bottle of beer — we rarely educate ourselves or our teenagers about a drug that is becoming nearly ubiquitous and that has a detrimental impact on their development.

The high concentration of THC in today’s marijuana is particularly threatening to the adolescent brain because it is still developing. If you have ever been pregnant, think for a moment about how you approached drugs and alcohol when you were carrying a child. My guess is that you avoided them. Knowing that the baby’s brain was developing, you probably stayed away from anything that might compromise that development. Using that same logic, we should treat the adolescent brain with the same care. The brain isn’t fully developed until the age of 25 and some of the most important phases of development happen in adolescence, including the development of the limbic system and the frontal lobe.

In order to understand how serious this is, let’s review exactly what is taking place in the brain during adolescence. The brain develops from the back to the front; the limbic area consists of the structures in the mid-brain. It regulates emotion and provides a feedback system for reward and motivation, as well as helping to process social interactions and memories. Cannabis targets the dopamine pump in the brain, so by smoking, vaping, or consuming marijuana, an adolescent prevents the reward system from fully developing, which permanently dulls their ability to feel satisfaction. THC recalibrates the sensitivity of the reward system, not only altering and flattening the response to reward but also increasing susceptibility to other drugs.

The frontal lobe, which develops after the limbic system, is the part of the brain most strongly associated with executive functions: organizing, planning, problem-solving, inhibition, and others. Because this area is the last to develop, it’s the most susceptible to influence by environment and experience as opposed to genetics, so it is therefore the most susceptible to drugs.

THC actually changes the brain cells on a structural level. Adolescence is also the time during which the brain is pruning, or paring down certain pathways that aren’t often used, as well as myelinating, or reinforcing those that are, strengthening the connections between neurotransmitters throughout the brain. This means that the neural connections that should be forming in the healthy adolescent brain are permanently altered by marijuana use. In the moment, marijuana does reduce stress for teens, but repetitive use prevents the brain from developing the capacity to handle stress in the long term because a strong neural connection hasn’t formed.

The same parts of the brain that are developing during adolescence are those most severely affected by marijuana. We are seeing increasing dysfunction among adolescent populations, most commonly presenting as ADHD and other learning impairments or depression and anxiety, all of which are currently being diagnosed at higher rates than ever before. While short-term cannabis use may seem to alleviate symptoms for kids, offering relief from anxiety and depression or relaxing an overactive brain, the long-term negative consequences far outweigh any temporary benefit. Ongoing use or abuse of cannabis during adolescence results in permanent cognitive impairment.

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Parents need to understand and acknowledge these shifts in potency and availability because these are factors that will impact teenagers in the coming years. Daily use has increased, lifetime use has increased, and more and more teenagers are seeking treatment for addiction to marijuana. Parents need to protect their children from the long-term negative effects of cannabis use by starting with saying no, I’m not okay with how it impacts your brain. Adolescents are hard-wired for instant gratification and new experiences; parents need to help them see the far-reaching consequences of what to a teenager is a split-second decision.

They might tell you that everybody’s doing it, but everybody is not doing it. Furthermore, that does nothing to mitigate the negative impact cannabis will have on their brain, body, and emotional wellbeing for years to come. On top of increased risk for psychosis, anxiety, depression, mania, suicidal ideation, self-harm, and mood disorders, automobile accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers and the introduction of any mind-altering substance only increases that already significant risk. The use of marijuana works against what you, as a parent, are working to do to prepare your adolescent for the next stages of their lives. Say no with confidence because the adverse effects are too significant to ignore.

It’s our job, as parents, to guide our children through their adolescent years and we can’t shirk that responsibility in this crucial area. So, how do we prevent our kids from smoking pot? Unfortunately, scare tactics don’t work and most school-based substance education programs are outdated. Parents need to educate themselves about how marijuana impacts the teenage brain so that they know what they’re talking about and can be an active and involved voice in the conversation around substance use.

I urge parents to be curious about their child or teenager’s behavior. Ask them questions. Who is vaping? Who gets high? Where do kids get marijuana? Who supplies it? They know more than you think. Also, share statistics with them around not only addiction, but also how frequent use impacts academic, social, and athletic skills in the short and long term. If a child or adolescent understands these risks, they will be less likely to use cannabis than if you simply tell them not to.

We also need to teach kids alternate methods for coping with mental health challenges such as anxiety or depression. If they are building these capacities (and strengthening those neural connections), they will be less likely to reach for the immediate relief that comes from a drug that will diminish their emotional resilience and dull their capacity for genuine sensation over the course of their lives.