How the new cannabis landscape threatens kids

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When cannabis legalization began to sweep across the U.S. 10 years ago, few could have predicted the myriad forms that “weed” would take – and the unintended consequences that this wide availability of products could have on adolescents. Today’s cannabis products barely resemble the dried form of the cannabis plant that many adults associate with the drug.

These new cannabis products often possess concentrations of THC ranging from 40% to 80% or higher – compared with the average of 4% in the 1990s, explains Ty Schepis, a clinical psychologist at Texas State University who studies the effects of substance use on adolescents and young adults. Higher levels of THC present serious risks for mental health conditions including psychosis, schizophrenia and cannabis use disorder.

“These dangers make early conversations with kids about cannabis and cannabis concentrates critically important,” Schepis writes. “While these conversations can be uncomfortable and you can look like the out-of-touch adult, they can be a major step toward preventing adolescents from using cannabis and other drugs.”

This week The Conversation dropped the first episode of a new podcast that answers questions posed by kids – and of interest to adults, too. The Conversation’s Curious Kids podcast is published in partnership with FunKids, the U.K.’s children’s radio station. Subscribe here.

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Amanda Mascarelli

Senior Health and Medicine Editor

Many of today’s cannabis products barely resemble the ‘weed’ that most middle-aged adults grew up with. VladK213/iStock via Getty Images

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THC concentrations in newly available products far exceed those of traditional smoked weed, which can have dangerous unintended consequences in adolescents.

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