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.
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https://dnyuz.com/2024/10/04/as-americas-marijuana-use-grows-so-do-the-harms/
We have had a war on drugs for 53 years now. What there doing doesnt work whether intentionally or through incompetence. Weed is no worse than alcohol. The government only cares about tax income. Its the reason you cant distill alcohol at home or now grow weed plants in some States. Having it monitored and bringing in tax revenue is not a bad thing. The users are going to get it either way.
They been chasing me since Nixon declared war in 72....they have taken people's freedoms fortunes...govt has no moral right to profit from weed sales now that they are broke
They have no moral right to tax anything but they do. Until people are so sick of it and are ready to throw tea into the harbor again it will unfortunately continue.