Mental health is the buzzword of today. Children whose mothers used cannabis during pregnancy may develop attention and behavioral problems around ages 11 and 12. The findings come from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, also called the ABCD Study. Scientists at Washington University analyzed data and published their findings in JAMA Pediatrics last month.
On November 17, 2019, Michelle Leopold’s son Trevor died of an overdose after purchasing counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl. He was only 18. His drug use started a few years earlier, when he used marijuana as a freshman at Redwood High School in Marin County, CA. He graduated from Tamalpeis High School in 2019. (Trevor is shownwith his mother Michelle at a residential treatment center in Utah, above photo)
An obituary of a young man from Illinois who died in October appeared in a local paper. Beloved to his family and friends, the tribute reads: “He was passionate about cannabis.”
Would he still be alive if his state had not joined the marijuana bandwagon last year? By legalizing pot, under the guise of social justice and tax money, Illinois may have sabotaged his recovery, as they did for this man. Pot use wires the brain for other pathways of drug and alcohol addiction.
People in the more experienced drug markets of California understand the marijuana to fentanyl pipeline, sometimes followed by death.
Tori Kropp’s son Xander also died of a fentanyl overdose: “18 months after he first smoked weed, he died of an accidental fentanyl overdose,” his mom said.
The Northern California epidemic
We learned about Tori through The Pitch, a newspaper put out by the advanced journalism students of Archie Williams High School in San Anselmo, California. Henry Pratt’s article, “Every parent’s worst nightmare”: fentanyl epidemic overtakes teens” won a national journalism award.
In the article, Kropp explains that “marijuana is a “gateway drug” to other illicit substances and that it is more dangerous for the developing teenage brain. According to Kropp, marijuana sold today has much stronger concentrations of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main component of marijuana that gives users a high. “
Pratt also interviewed Michelle Leopold for the article. Leopold explains that the cannabis industry’s anger at her comes from her truthful comments about marijuana as a “gateway drug” to other addictive substances. The industry, unable to admit the dangers of their products, blames her as a parent for her son’s addiction.
Pratt’s outstanding student article further explains what fentanyl is, how it’s infiltrating the world of students. COVID, the lockdown and social media have made the situation worse. Pratt explains how Narcan may be able to stop a fentanyl overdose. However, it’s not a long-term solution to the addiction and overdose epidemic. Primary drug prevention will take us much further.
Marijuana to Fentanyl pipeline in other states
Officials from Connecticut Overdose Response and the Department of Public Health put out a warning about the dangers of marijuana laced with fentanyl. The press release of November 18 explained 39 overdose cases since July 2021, in which patients required naloxone but claimed to have only used marijuana. Testing proved that the marijuana had been laced with fentanyl.
Two days ago Michigan Poison Control put out a press release warning of 8 such cases in Michigan since June. Since fentanyl-laced marijuana shows up in states with legalized marijuana, it’s clear that state “regulation” doesn’t take away these dangers.
Today COVID, the overdose epidemic and the marijuana-to-fentanyl pipeline converge for a very challenging period of time!
While there are FDA approved THC medicines out there to help with certain cases of nausea, there is a much more insidious adverse reaction many marijuana users are experiencing, which can leave them begging for relief, or even kill them.
Warns Virginia Legislators Not to Ignore the True Costs and Harms
Merrifield, VA—February 8, 2021–Opponents to the Virginia bills which will permit 400 retail marijuana shops and home grows in neighborhoods around the state, are hearing some alarming arguments in favor of the idea. Parents Opposed to Pot (PopPot), a drug prevention campaign, responds to the erroneous information currently being accepted by some legislators.
The reasons constituents are being given for supporting the legislation (SB 1406 and HB 2312) are in bold. What follows are the PopPot rebuttals:
There has not been an increase in the use of marijuana in states with legalization.
The recently released SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH 2018-2019) shows that drug use doubles when a state legalizes. MomsStrong.org recently published a helpful chart of this data.[1] In the state of Colorado about 20% of teens use marijuana regularly, and half of those teens have progressed to the more dangerous high THC concentrates. These psychoactive drug products manufactured and sold by the marijuana industry include vapes and edibles.[2] In jurisdictions where there is a high density of marijuana shops the rate is even higher. In Pueblo, Colorado, known as the Napa Valley of marijuana, the youth rate is 35%, and in Denver the rate is 25% for teens.[3] Teens were not using these products before legalization.
