Colorado is more than two years into its social experiment allowing the sale and use of marijuana for recreational purposes, yet much remains unknown about the drug’s effect on public health.
Four local experts with different backgrounds in marijuana research discussed health-related topics Monday at the second annual marijuana panel discussion held at Fort Lewis College. About 50 people attended the talk, which was complete with “munchies” – potato chips and brownies – at the back of the room.
Topics included trade-offs of the harm versus therapeutic benefits of marijuana, how marijuana affects psychiatric disorders, whether marijuana is a “gateway drug,” and the environmental impacts of large growing operations.
Cody Goss, with Celebrating Health Communities, said marijuana absolutely has harmful impacts including the unintentional exposure of young children who get into a parent’s stash, the legal implications of using the drug before the age of 21, and concerns that marijuana smoke contains some of the same carcinogens as tobacco smoke.
A survey in 2006-07 of middle school and high school students in the Durango-area found 16 percent used marijuana within 30 days. That number decreased in 2011-12 to 14 percent, and showed a slight increase in 2013-14 to 15 percent. But all of those samples were taken before recreational marijuana became prevalent, Goss said.
A smaller survey that sampled students last year found 30-day use among middle school and high school students was up to 20 percent, she said.
Goss anticipates the next round of survey results, expected to be published in a month or two, will show a “substantial uptick” in marijuana use among that age group.
Panelists agreed the effects of marijuana varies greatly from one user to another, and the method of delivery adds another variable, for example, smoking it, consuming edibles or applying lotions.
Jamie Knight, a nurse practitioner with a background in psychotherapy, said marijuana can spark episodes of psychosis, but he doesn’t believe it is the cause of psychosis. More likely, it ignites a condition that already exists. He encouraged users who become overly paranoid or experience hallucinations as a result of marijuana use to stay away from it.
Luke Mason with Aurum Labs, which analyzes THC content, among many other chemicals in marijuana products, said there is currently no testing requirement for medical marijuana products, so he encouraged users to buy recreational products if they’re concerned about testing standards.
The Environmental Protection Agency typically regulates pesticide use, but since marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled drug under federal law, the agency doesn’t test it. Gov. John Hickenlooper has expressed a zero-tolerance for pesticide use in marijuana manufacturing, but some growers have argued they’re using compounds that are organic-certified and are used on strawberries. But Mason said there’s a major difference: people don’t smoke strawberries.
