Marijuana and Our Children
What have we learned with the effects of marijuana use?
The following table reprinted from PEDIATRICS IN REVIEW, February 2020, pg. 61, best summarizes the adverse effects of marijuana use. As you can see it is not innocuous in either the short or long term usage.
We are in a learning phase of its purpose. As more research is done we will know more. At the present time one must be cautious in its application. Be not only an informed parent but a cautious one.
ADVERSE EFFECTS OF SHORT-TERM USE AND LONG-TERM OR HEAVY USE OF MARIJUANA (101)
Effects of short-term use
- Impaired short-term memory, making it difficult to learn and to retain information.
- Impaired motor coordination, interfering with driving skills and increasing the risk of injuries.
- Altered judgment, increasing the risk of sexual behaviors that facilitate the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.
- In high doses, paranoia and psychosis.
Effects of long-term or heavy use.
- Addiction (in ~9% of users overall, 17% of those who begin use in adolescence, and 25% to 50% of those who are daily users)
- Altered brain development.
- Poor educational outcome, with increased likelihood of dropping out of school.*
- Cognitive impairment, with lower IQ among those who were frequent users during adolescence.
- Diminished life satisfaction and achievement (determined on the basis of subjective and objective measures compared with such ratings in the general population).
- Symptoms of chronic bronchitis.
- Increased risk of chronic psychosis disorders (including schizophrenia) in persons with a predisposition to such disorders.