Despite the media coverage on legalized marijuana, it is still illegal in half of the United States. Currently, twenty five states and the District of Columbia have laws legalizing marijuana in some form, which means it is illegal in 25 states.
Marijuana edibles are food or treats that are infused with THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the main mind altering ingredient found in the cannabis plant). This gives the person consuming the treat the benefit of THC without having to smoke or use a vaporizer. The New York Times has reported the marijuana edibles market has exploded in popularity in states where marijuana use is permitted.
Marijuana edibles give users a different kind of high than the high they get from smoking marijuana due to the fact that with marijuana edibles, THC is absorbed though the stomach and the liver instead of through the lungs as is the case when a person smokes marijuana in a joint or in a bong.
The effects are slower to arrive, last longer and can be a lot more intense so the person may unwittingly consume a larger dose than they intended. As in the case of edible marijuana, a person could eat a large amounts of pot brownies which would have a greater intoxication effect and possibly result in an overdose.
THC overdoses can cause extreme anxiety, paranoia, impaired thought processes and psychotic behavior with the feeling of wanting to die greatly impairing both one’s judgement and motor skills. Either an error in judgement or in motor skills are potentially life threatening which may result in a fatal mistake.
Determining the THC content can be hard for the distributor to control from batch to batch and when it comes to a homemade batch of edibles, it is no easy feat to control the potency. In most cases, doses are established by trial and error resulting in most overdoses.
The fact that first time users can easily make a dose mistake is very real. Smoking pot for the first time can be a little intimidating, especially if you’re not already a smoker. But eating a candy or a brownie is a much easier way to ingest the drug so it’s less intimidating. Especially for kids with the products being marketed as things kids are drawn to – cookies and snacks, and things like that.
Another problem is that consumers of edibles can get sloppy or careless leaving left overs out or forgetting to secure edibles. This becomes dangerous when children live in the home. Most of the brownies, cookies and candies are common look alike products making it difficult for a child to know the difference. Pets are also put at risk, with both being smaller in size and weight, making having marijuana edibles in the house extremely dangerous.
All of the above, coupled with the fact that using drugs can serve to be an insatiable urge resulting in some people using more and harder drugs. An example is a kid playing with a toy for a while and then it starts to get old. So they get a new toy (or car, or computer, or gadget). Following this type of behavior, marijuana is truly a gate way drug and can lead some into harder, more devastating drugs and those who use it recreationaly need to be prepared for legal issues, failed UA’s and likely continued, worsening drug use.
Please seek help or treatment if marijuana edibles are causing you or a loved one health or family problems.
