Teen marijuana use is risky

As the Prevention WINS coalition plans for addressing the decreasing perception of risk associated with marijuana use among teenagers in NE Seattle, understanding what the risks are is important.

An article about the adverse health effects of marijuana use was published in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this month.  It especially highlights the harmful effects of marijuana use among teenagers.  From the article:

Intoxication: When under the influence of marijuana, it can interfere with memory, perception of time, and coordination which can lead to consequences such as motor vehicle crashes.

Addiction: One in six people who start using marijuana as teenagers become addicted to the drug.  Among those who use marijuana daily, 25 to 50% become addicted.

Brain development: Frequent use of marijuana from adolescence into adulthood is associated with significant declines in IQ.  This may be due to fewer connections established in the brains of people who used marijuana regularly during the teen years compared to people who did not.  These long lasting brain changes can hinder academic and social achievements.  

Yes, teen alcohol, tobacco, and opiate use are risky, too.  Like most drug use prevention programs, the Prevention WINS coalition addresses multiple substances used by teenagers and provides information about the harms associated with all of them.  The current focus on marijuana is a result of the declining perception of risk among NE Seattle teens who receive messages from adults in the wider community that marijuana is a safe drug to use.  

As perception of risk decreases underage marijuana use increases

Yesterday, I started to address common misperceptions about adolescent marijuana use included in a recent Seattle PI Pot Blog post.  Today let’s take a closer look at the statement that recent media stories “. . . give the impression that marijuana will suddenly become a big issue for kids.  Well, maybe legalization will have the opposite effect, even with kids’ attitudes about the dangers of marijuana slipping toward the ‘not so dangerous’ side." 

As the author recognizes, perception of risk is associated with marijuana use among teens.

While local data about teen marijuana use and perceived risk post-legalization won't be available until next spring, current Healthy Youth Survey data indicate that NE Seattle teens decreasingly think that marijuana use is risky.  Prevention WINS coalition members and others concerned with teen drug use report that teenagers increasingly hear from adults in the community that marijuana use is not risky.  Unless it turns out that trends dating back to 1975 are poor predictors of future youth use rates, it is reasonable to expect that more Washington teenagers will report regularly using marijuana in the years to come.