By Megan Twohey, Danielle Ivory and Carson Kessler The reporters are continuing to examine cannabis policies, use of the drug and the rise of the commercial market.
Published Oct. 4, 2024 Updated Oct. 7, 2024
https://dnyuz.com/2024/10/04/as-americas-marijuana-use-grows-so-do-the-harms/
In midcoast Maine, a pediatrician sees teenagers so dependent on cannabis that they consume it practically all day, every day — “a remarkably scary amount,” she said.
From Washington State to West Virginia, psychiatrists treat rising numbers of people whose use of the drug has brought on delusions, paranoia and other symptoms of psychosis.
And in the emergency departments of small community hospitals and large academic medical centers alike, physicians encounter patients with severe vomiting induced by the drug — a potentially devastating condition that once was rare but now, they say, is common. “Those patients look so sick,” said a doctor in Ohio, who described them “writhing around in pain.”
As marijuana legalization has accelerated across the country, doctors are contending with the effects of an explosion in the use of the drug and its intensity. A $33 billion industry has taken root, turning out an ever-expanding range of cannabis products so intoxicating they bear little resemblance to the marijuana available a generation ago. Tens of millions of Americans use the drug, for medical or recreational purposes — most of them without problems.
But with more people consuming more potent cannabis more often, a growing number, mostly chronic users, are enduring serious health consequences.
The accumulating harm is broader and more severe than previously reported. And gaps in state regulations, limited public health messaging and federal restraints on research have left many consumers, government officials and even medical practitioners in the dark about such outcomes.
Again and again, The New York Times found dangerous misconceptions.
Many users believe, for instance, that people cannot become addicted to cannabis. But millions do.
**MUCH MORE: **
https://dnyuz.com/2024/10/04/as-americas-marijuana-use-grows-so-do-the-harms/
Alcohol killed my mother, I'll stick to my 420.
Sorry to hear, fren :( I used pot to quit my raging alcoholism for good. I feel like I still need help sleeping. Probably don't. Now I just enjoy pot for the fun of it 😉 Cured the alcoholism and also just measured in at 14.6% body fat at 57 years old. Down from being fairly heavy last year; ALL due to extreme daily amounts of alcohol intake ruining my metabolism. Alcohol ABUSE is the problem. No one does moderation very well, in spite of what they might say. However, one can't really abuse pot. Might get too high. Oh well, lay down. It will go away. Alcohol, on the other hand, can kill fairly easily. A fair comparison between the two can't be made.