By: Sarah Liu
It is not surprising to hear about drug addictions, especially in teens using illicit substances as a stress reliever. But one type of drug in particular, Cannabis, is a type used legally for medicinal purposes.
About 147 million people, or 2.5% of the world population, consume Cannabis, and those users make up the largest number of illicit drug users in the world (Unodc.org). Cannabis contains high THC levels, which can hinder vision, cause fainting, and ultimately lead to addiction.
One Cannabis user, 18-year-old Elysse, started using the drug when she was 14. At first, she felt it was an “insane euphoria.” However, not long after, the euphoria transformed into sadness and possibly fatal consequences.
After emotional changes and passing out, she experienced heavy vomiting, in one case over 20 times over 2 hours. After a half dozen trips to the emergency room for stomach illness, she was finally diagnosed with “cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a condition that causes recurrent vomiting in heavy marijuana users.” Luckily, the trips to the hospital and her worried parents were enough to convince Elysse to quit, but for other parents, the consequences their children experienced would be much darker.
Laura Stack took a different approach. Her son, Johnny, confessed to using Marijuana at 14. She said to herself, “oh well, it’s just weed. Thank God it wasn’t cocaine.” She had smoked marijuana in high school before and knew it would “eat your brain cells” but thought it was fine. Johnny had no mental health problems and excelled in the classroom. But higher potency products made him delusional and paranoid, thinking the mob was after him.
Ms. Stack said he even threatened to kill the family dog and dealt to younger kids. Johnny was prescribed medication but stopped taking it and died jumping from a six-story building. He had left a note days before his death, saying that smoking weed had ruined his mind and life.
Dr. Sharon Levy, the director of the Adolescent Substance Use and Addiction Program at Boston Children’s Hospital says when teens ask him about THC consumption, she says “All I can tell them
is that there’s no known safe limit.” While most would agree that staying away from drugs is the safest choice, there is no one solution to this drug epidemic. But one thing is for sure: letting teens see the aftermath of drugs for other teens can keep most away.
Link to Articles:
Psychosis, Addiction, Chronic Vomiting: As Weed Becomes More Potent, Teens Are Getting Sick
UNODC.ORG