Jefferson County has a real problem with teens using marijuana.

 Marijuana use among our kids, starting in the sixth grade, is significantly worse than the rest of the state.

 Marijuana use by teens, medical experts agree, damages brain development and can lead to memory loss, diminished verbal ability and learning and performance difficulties. 

 Most teens who enter drug treatment report their primary problem is marijuana abuse.  Teenage use greatly increases the risk of addiction.

 Marijuana use by teens can lead to more severe anxiety and depression, or the onset of those psychological problems.

 Does anybody care?  There has been less attention paid by our local newspapers to this serious problem than stories about Port Townsend’s deer.

 We learned about these alarming statistics from the 2016 Washington State Healthy Youth Survey in connection with reporting on the prospect of a marijuana retailer, Greg Brotherton, being elected to the County Commission.  In that position, he would have power over public efforts to fight teen marijuana use and educate consumers about its harmful effects.  We return to coverage of that looming conflict of interest in a future article.

 Our report about Brotherton highlighted marijuana’s adverse physical and health risks and drew some of the most vitriolic reader responses to anything we have written.  Repeating facts about marijuana’s dangers, such as increasing the risk of testicular cancer by 250% or more than doubling a pregnant woman’s chances of giving birth to a dead baby, or that marijuana smoke contains more carcinogens and tar than cigarette smoke…look out.

 Fact-resistant worship of marijuana is making things worse for our kids.

 According to that Healthy Youth Survey, more than half of our teens think regular use has no harmful effects.  A good deal of this ignorance is attributable to the perception that adults don’t see anything wrong with marijuana use. 

 Perception of harm is decreasing even as scientific evidence establishes more physical and mental health problems related to marijuana use, especially with the more potent varieties finding their way to teens.  Today’s dope is nothing like what sent the Grateful Dead on mellow (and boring) hour-long versions of “Truckin’.”  Today’s genetically and chemically manipulated THC-soaked pot is green crack.  Yet this Franken-weed is being marketed as “organic and gentle.”

 Back to the scary statistics.

 Sixty-eight percent of teens report marijuana is easy to obtain.  The black market is all but gone. This means that teens are using marijuana coming out of retail shops.

 Seventy-eight percent of teens who use marijuana smoke it, a statistic comparable with adult use. There is no safe way to smoke marijuana, any more than there is a safe way to smoke cigarettes.

 More kids in Jefferson County drive stoned or in a vehicle driven by someone who is stoned than kids statewide.

 Teen marijuana use was declining markedly until 2010, started rising and has since stayed at about 32% of Jefferson County teens. 

 Legalization has made the problem worse with the marketing of marijuana promoting its use and acceptance and pooh-poohing its dangers.  The Chimacum Prevention Coalition has recognized this, as there are two marijuana retailers just down the road from the high school.  Marijuana retailers spending their advertising budgets to remove the stigma of marijuana use are not helping young people make the right decision.

 Instead of accepting worsening trends, we could be leveraging legalization to fight teen use and better educate the public so that the perception-of-risk trend line turns around.  We could fight marijuana use as we have fought cigarette use, by advancing facts that justify stigma and ridicule.

 The pot shop could become a classroom about the dangers of marijuana, if our county commissioners would take decisive action.

 The state law legalizing recreational marijuana empowered local governments to require more consumer information than the state mandated, which mentions health risks but glosses over specifics.  Just like Big Tobacco lobbyists blocked consumer education, pot’s lobbyists in Olympia have also been busy.

 Our county commissioners could require signs prominently displayed in every retail outlet and the distribution of printed material before every purchase providing the following information that comes through the county’s Public Health Department website (all hyperlinked in our previous Brotherton report).  After all, if the information is important enough to be made available by the county, why not make sure the intended audience gets it? 

-Marijuana is addictive.

-Marijuana can damage brain development, from babies absorbing THC through their mother’s placenta or breast milk to anyone up to age 25.  It can cause long term damage and a permanent drop in IQ and loss of verbal ability and memory.

-Pregnant women who use marijuana have 2.3 times greater incidence of still birth.  Marijuana-exposed children are more likely to show gaps in problem-solving skills, memory and the ability to remain attentive. Parental marijuana use is associated with a greater likelihood of using marijuana at an early age.

-Marijuana smoke contains carcinogenic combustion products, including about 50 percent more benzoprene and 75 percent more benzanthracene (and more phenols, vinyl chlorides, nitrosamines, reactive oxygen species) than cigarette smoke. Marijuana smoking leads to four times the deposition of tar compared to cigarette smoking.

-Marijuana smoking is associated with large airway inflammation, increased airway resistance, and lung hyperinflation.

-Marijuana use has been linked to increased psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety and substance abuse disorders.  It is particularly dangerous for individuals with a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia and psychosis.  The high THC content of today’s marijuana products increases the risks of psychiatric problems.

-Marijuana’s negative effects on attention, memory, and learning can last for days or weeks. A daily user may be functioning at a reduced intellectual level most or all the time.

-Chronic use can lead to Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome—a condition marked by recurrent bouts of severe nausea, vomiting, and dehydration.

And don’t forget that cringe-worthy fact about marijuana use by young men increasing their risk of testicular cancer by 250%.

We have a real problem with teen use of marijuana. But with a marijuana retailer likely winning the open seat on the county commission, and the other two commissioners supporting his candidacy, what are the chances they will aggressively use their lawful powers to help our kids?

Related:  Marijuana Facts for Teens from National Institute on Drug Abuse

Two Million Teens Vaping Marijuana, Survey Finds

Spike in Marijuana Overdoses Blamed on Potent Edibles, Poor Public Education

America’s Invisible Pot Addicts

What You Need to Know About Marijuana Use in Teens

Marijuana Addition is Growing and Teens Face the Highest Health Risk