Opinion: High-potency pot poses risks to the developing brain

In my psychiatric practice, I treat patients with psychotic illnesses including schizophrenia. Most were born with a genetic vulnerability to develop the disorder, but many share another important life experience: they smoked pot from an early age.

Debate has raged across Canada about the impending legalization/decriminalization of marijuana. Canadian physicians, in their role as advocates for physical and mental health, have been conspicuously absent from the debate. This troubling void in leadership is apparent from the lack of informed discourse exhibited across all forms of media. Our failure to educate Canadians regarding the potential risks of street pot, particularly for a developing brain, has important social, physical and psychological implications.

Teens and their parents have been exposed to a steady stream of pseudo-scientific nonsense about street pot: it’s safer for kids than alcohol, it improves driver safety, it cures cancer, it will usher in world peace. Due to its accessibility and social acceptability, many Canadians have come to believe pot is a benign herb. Teens are the principal market for street pot, so there’s a strong financial incentive for pot-sellers to vehemently argue it’s a safe, even healthy, personal choice.

Read the full story here:

3 Likes

I’m not in the mood to read the whole thing but I did want to point something out: I didn’t smoke pot as early as everybody else but I still got an episode. I only got into it at 17-18. That’s not nearly as long as most people smoke around here so I think I must have had a predisposition to it.

pot originates from the devil

pot didn’t help me

I’ve seen pot do enormous damage. I’ve seen alcohol do bigger damage. Every year in the United States tens of thousands of people die because of drunk drivers. Pot doesn’t help you drive safer, but it doesn’t do that. I never enjoyed pot. It did things to my head that I didn’t like. I did feel a significant decrease in my mental acuity because I got high on pot. The impetus to legalize pot is the same as the impetus to legalize alcohol during prohibition: people are going to do it anyway, and keeping it illegal breeds violence. I’m in favor of legalizing pot and other drugs not because I think they are harmless, but because I think they would be easier to control if they were legal. We can still attach a stigma to the use of pot and other drugs. We can still do all the “just say no” campaigns, but people won’t be gunning each other down in the street over drug business.

3 Likes

I tried it when I was 18 or 19

1 Like

no ■■■■
151515151