Marijuana

Teens and young adults who are heavy marijuana users are more likely than non-users to have disrupted brain development, according to a new study that appeared last month in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

For many Detroit, Mich. teens, pot is all relative. When it's your relatives—your aunts, uncles, parents, and grandparents—with the joint in their hand, just saying no isn't always easy. That's why three years ago, the Detroit Recovery Project Coalition began the Love Detroit Youth Initiative as a way to intervene in the destructive path many youth in the area were taking and to change community norms.

The New York Times reported that the L.A. City Council approved an ordinance on Tuesday that would shut down 80 percent of the city's medical marijuana dispensaries because of problems they've had with their dispensaries.

 Teens who frequently listen to music that contains references to marijuana are more likely to use the drug than their counterparts with less exposure to such lyrics, according to a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study online now in the journal Addiction.

While there were slight decreases in the use of cocaine and methamphetamine among youth, teen marijuana use showed no signs of slowing down. In fact, according to the 2009 Monitoring the Future Survey, marijuana use among adolescents has increased gradually over the past two years after years of declining use; and past year rates of Vicodin and OxyContin abuse increased during the last 5 years among 10th graders and remained unchanged among 8th and 12th graders. The MTF Survey, which surveys youth in 8th, 10th and 12th graders, was released Monday by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the University of Michigan.

In recent weeks, there has been extensive media coverage of state efforts to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. However, many of the news reports aren't painting the full picture. That's why last month CADCA and other national organizations developed a joint op-ed calling for more balanced media coverage of this issue. Help us get this op-ed read nationwide by submitting it to your local newspaper!

In recent weeks, there has been extensive media coverage of state efforts to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. However, many of the news reports aren't painting the full picture. That's why CADCA and other national organizations have developed a joint op-ed calling for more balanced media coverage of this issue. Help us get this op-ed read nationwide by submitting it to your local newspaper!

A recent Department of Justice memo offering guidelines for federal prosecutors regarding state laws authorizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes sparked a flurry of news reports, with some arguing that the memo signaled the Obama Administration's tacit approved of "medical" marijuana. In addition, proponents of marijuana legalization claimed that the memo was a step toward marijuana legalization. In response, Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), issued a statement clarifying that the memo did not mean either of those things and he confirmed the Administration's stance that marijuana should remain illegal.

A recent White House analysis shows that teens are turning away from street drugs, like marijuana and cocaine, and are now abusing prescription drugs to get high. The report, "Teens and Prescription Drugs: An Analysis of Recent Trends on the Emerging Drug Threat," released in February by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), found that new users of prescription drugs have now caught up with new users of marijuana, and prescription drugs are now the second most commonly used illegal drug by teens to get high, behind marijuana. The report also shows that the majority of teens, who use these products, are getting them easily and for free.

Recent media stories reported that some high school students in San Diego, Calif. are using medical marijuana cards as a way to get high in school. Community coalition leaders are concerned about this trend, saying that the reports confirm what they had always feared–that medical marijuana legalization is putting the drug in the hands of young people.

A study released by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found that levels of THC—the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana—have reached the highest-ever levels since scientific analysis of the drug began in the late 1970´s. According to the latest data on marijuana samples analyzed to date, the average amount of THC in seized samples has reached 8.5 percent, compared to just under 4 percent reported in 1983.

Popular West Coast fast food chain, Jack in the Box, has always been known for their funny, edgy commercials, but prevention advocates and parents in San Diego County say a recent TV ad is anything but funny. Community leaders are outraged because the ad depicts a young person behind the wheel apparently high on marijuana.

Mental health hospital admissions in England due to marijuana use have risen by 85 percent, according to the BBC News. In 1996-7, there were 510 admissions, rising to 946 in 2005-6. Over the last five years alone there was a 65 percent rise, with experts saying the figures were "the tip of the iceberg".