The dangers of edibles and teen marijuana use

When parents think about their teen using marijuana, they picture joints, pipes, and bongs. They do not imagine brownies, chocolate bars, and gummy bears. However, parents need to know about the dangers of edibles like weed candy and edible marijuana.

To make edibles, marijuana is brewed into tea or cooked into food, such as brownies, cookies, or candy. Hence, teens can consume sweets that contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

Results from studies done in the United States of America indicated that teens were more likely to smoke marijuana than cigarettes. And now teens are not only smoking marijuana, they are eating it as well. In a study of more than three thousand Los Angeles teens, 21 percent had tried edibles.

Youth reported that even though users mostly smoke marijuana, some teens consume edibles to reduce the likelihood of getting caught at school. One youth explained: “So you can eat your brownie in class and the teachers don’t even know. You’re just eating a brownie. They’re not going to snatch it out of your hand and smell it.” Edibles are also a “go-to” for those who do not like to smoke or have concerns about smoking. One male user explained that some may be concerned about rolling paper causing cancer of the lips. Some females may also prefer to use edibles. A female non-user observed that “most people at my school, the men would actually smoke but sometimes it would be that the girls eat brownies.” Some male users reinforced this notion, indicating that “the majority of the people who like edibles are the females at school,” with one teen suggesting that some female users preferred edibles because they were “too afraid to smoke. They don’t want that smell on them.” While female users described edible use as a choice to minimize the risk of discovery at school, they also observed that smoking is “different for a girl because people think ‘oh she’s a baddie.’” Some teens described aspects of marijuana use related to smoking as “stinky” and “unattractive,” with male users suggesting that abstaining from marijuana use was “attractive… if it’s coming from a female.”

Youth reported that edibles can be purchased at school from other students who either make the edibles themselves or resell them after obtaining them from a dispensary. For example, one female user reported that a girl at her school sells marijuana-infused cupcakes for $5 each. One male non-user said that several students in his culinary class at school are there to learn how to cook in order to be able to produce edibles. When asked how youth manage to make marijuana- infused butter (canna butter, which is often used to produce baked goods), some teens reported that teens either make their own or are able to access butter purchased from dispensaries. One young woman noted that some teens at her school have access to edibles from dispensaries through their older siblings who have medical marijuana cards. Some youth considered edibles from dispensaries safer and sometimes preferable because they are “tested and done right.”

However, teens also acknowledged that the cost of edibles from dispensaries was higher, which is why some teens made their own. One of the trade-offs with home made edibles may be taste, as one youth reported who had a brownie, which did not taste like brownies should taste.”

An Exploding Market for Marijuana Edibles:

As many states continue to legalize the drug, pot entrepreneurs seek to profit from the creation and marketing of edible drugs. As a result, this market is exploding.

Marijuana edibles remove the smoke and the smell of the drug. Therefore, people who don’t like these aspects of smoking marijuana may instead choose edibles. In addition, teens believe they can get away with using edibles. No smoke and no smell reduce the chances of getting caught.

Therefore, marijuana edibles are popular with teens.

In addition, teens mistakenly believe that they can handle using edibles. In one survey of adolescents, many youth had heard of teen deaths related to marijuana edibles. However, users were generally not concerned, and felt that teens who could not handle edibles should not be consuming them.

The Many Types of Marijuana Edibles: 

Marijuana edibles are dangerous for teens and adolescents because it’s harder for parents to recognize that their kids are using drugs.

Additionally, it may be easy for teens to eat a large amount of an edible. And this can be dangerous, as the potency is often more intense.

Examples of Marijuana Edibles:

Weed candy, like cannabis suckers, gumdrops, and gummy bears, pot cookies, ranging from ginger snaps to chocolate chip cookies. “Healthy” pot granola, pot tea and cannabis punch; cannabis milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and toffee chocolate; THC-laced honey and flavored CBD oil; Cannabis-infused popcorn, candy corn, and popcorn toppings.
Moreover, sublingual edibles are now made to move quickly into the bloodstream, creating a fast high.

The Dangers of Edibles Examined:

As well as the sweet taste, the colourful packaging and marketing schemes for edibles attract youth. Because they are user-friendly for teens, the dangers of edibles are magnified for this population.

One of the biggest dangers of consuming edibles is the digestion time in the body, which fosters a much longer high (four to 10 hours). Moreover, higher potency can lead to serious side effects, such as paranoia, panic attacks, and hallucinations. Thus, middle scholars from Plymouth, Massachusetts, to Atlanta, Georgia, have been hospitalized after consuming marijuana edibles at school.

In addition, it’s easier to overdose on edibles because a THC high results in “the munchies.”

Even comic actor Seth Rogen, a well-known user of marijuana, has spoken out about how easy it is to go too far with edibles.

Moreover, pot entrepreneurs add dangerous additives to their sweet formulations. Hence, teens may unknowingly use marijuana edibles that are laced with other drugs.

Protecting Teens from the Dangers of Edibles:

In summary, parents and policymakers need to educate teens and protect them from the dangers of consuming edibles. For example, edibles could be made visually distinctive so parents and teachers can recognize what they are.

SVG is no exception, lets nip it in the bud.

Contributed by a concerned Pharmacist