Tag Archives: Colorado

Child Endangerment, Colorado

Children of Stoner Parents Fall, More Likely to Fail

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(Read Part 1, in this series about the older children of pot-using parents, Custody issues, and Part 2, children in fires and BHO explosions. )

Teen Who Ate Mom’s Pot Fell Off Balcony; Boy Drowned in Canada

On April 14 in Fort Collins, Colorado, a 19-year-old fell off the 3rd floor balcony after ingesting a marijuana edible his mother had given him.    Austin Essig survived the fall, but what about his mom’s judgment?    

It is not clear who gave or sold marijuana to Haven Dubois, a 14-year-old boy in Saskatchewan who drowned, but his mother wishes that police had investigated more thoroughly. There were other teens with him, but did the police even try to get the bottom of the issue?    “It’s so easy for them to brush it aside. It’s just another dead Indian to them.”   Pamela McColl of SAM Canada would like to see those who provide marijuana to teens who suffer harm held accountable, the same way those who give drinks to young people are held responsible for fatal accidents.  (McColl is the editor of On Marijuana which contains important essays by international specialists such as Mary Brett of the United Kingdom.) Continue reading Children of Stoner Parents Fall, More Likely to Fail →

Child Endangerment, Driving, Drug Policy

Vermont Legislators Ignore the Evidence About Marijuana

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Vermont legislators are expected to take up legislation to legalize pot this month, but they should examine the evidence and stop looking at dollar signs.  Marijuana causes car accidents and is known as a trigger for mental health problems and psychosis.

On August 7,  2015, Jody Herring of Barre killed four people.   It was the worst recent case of violence in our nation’s second least populous state.  Herring had mental health issues and a drug problem,  with marijuana the substance most evident in her history.  (Lancet Psychiatry Journal published February 16 2015 study  that 1/4 of incidences of first-time psychosis in London over 6 years were triggered by  marijuana use. Herring had been using for a long time.)

At least 3 others who died in Vermont this past year — Richard Tom, Joseph Marshall, Lance Magoon — were in crashes involving stoned drivers.   In 2014, one third of all traffic fatalities Continue reading Vermont Legislators Ignore the Evidence About Marijuana →

Colorado, News Articles

Colorado Leads States in Youth Marijuana Usage

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 Colorado now leads the country in past-month youth marijuana use, after legalizing marijuana in 2012. The state claims this dubious distinction after being in third place in the 2012-2013 report, and in fourth place in the 2011-2012 study.  This information comes from the most comprehensive federal government drug use survey conducted in all 50 states (and the District of Columbia)

In addiction, Colorado has the 8th highest drug overdose death rate in the country.   The rate has risen in a great deal in past decade, showing that legalization of pot doesn’t stop other drug usage and may in fact lead to other drug use.

“Move over, Rhode Island. Now that Colorado has legalized and widely commercialized marijuana, their children use marijuana regularly more than children in any other state,” remarked Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former White House drug advisor.

“In Colorado especially, Big Marijuana has been allowed to run wild, and it appears that kids are paying the price more than in any other state in the country.”

Other states that have legalized marijuana finished in the top six:  the District of Columbia (4th), Oregon (5th), and Washington state (6th).    Vermont and Rhode Island are in 2nd and 3rd place.

Colorado has become the show place for the marijuana industry with many, many commercial stores that sell edibles.   “Like Big Tobacco, marijuana companies put their bottom line before public health. It’s time we stop this new industry,” said Sabet.

For more information about marijuana use and its effects, see http://www.learnaboutsam.org.

While other drug usage is going down among youth, marijuana use is staying constant. There is a growing number of daily pot users — 6 percent of all high school seniors.  For this 6 percent, the future is bleak unless they get over it fast.

Colorado, Testimonies

Colorado’s Pot Greed and My Son’s Psychiatric Hospital Surprise

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Marijuana Keeps Psychiatric Hospitals in Colorado Busy

(Excerpts edited from a letter written by a Colorado resident to the state’s marijuana regulatory board. If you are a Colorado resident with a similar story, please write [email protected] and we will get you into a group of parents who are dealing with similar, urgent problems.)

When Colorado’s Amendment 64 passed, my son and his friends celebrated it. They wrote 4/20 all over their bodies and clothes.  He was only 12, and now he’s 15.  I was familiar with the problems with smoking marijuana and educated my son about it. However I was not prepared to deal with a near-death experience due to him smoking marijuana.

My husband and I were not aware that my son started smoking marijuana and eating THC-laced edibles when he was in 8th grade. He had his first suicide attempt in January 2014 over a break up with a girl. My husband and I thought he was just broken-hearted. He started spiraling down a dark path of mental Continue reading Colorado’s Pot Greed and My Son’s Psychiatric Hospital Surprise →