Laid-back approach to pot is becoming a public health threat.

Our old policies toward cannabis failed. But our new, laid-back approach to pot is mutating into a public health threat.

Newly released research shows that, for the first time, more people in the United States are using marijuana daily or almost every day compared with the number of people who say they consume alcohol that often. The startling report also shows that in 2022, frequent cannabis users were almost four times as likely to report daily or near-daily use than those who use alcohol--and 7.4 times more likely to report using cannabis every day.

Increased consumption clearly is tied to the rapid legalization of pot in the states, and the growth of a cannabis industry that has created a kaleidoscope of colorful--often tasty--products to entice users. Cannabis is now legal for medical and/or recreational purposes in 38 states, and more than half of Americans can now legally access marijuana.

State legalization began as a legitimate effort at decriminalization and an appropriate way to reduce incarceration for nonviolent offenses. The Biden administration shares these goals and recently moved to place marijuana on a less stringent level of regulation, for federal purposes, than it is now.   

Yet the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Centers for Disease Control, public health officials and academic researchers continue to warn of the harms of marijuana use, particularly as the easy availability of cannabis takes hold across the country and the potency of cannabis products increases. The risks are particularly serious for teenagers.

Adolescent exposure to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in the cannabis plant and what makes users feel “high,” increases sensitivity to the rewarding effects of other drugs, which may be one reason why those who use cannabis in youth are more vulnerable to addiction to cannabis and other drugs later in life.

According to the CDC, teen marijuana use has been linked to a range of mental health problems, including depression and social anxiety. The National Institutes of Health suggests there may be a link between cannabis use and higher levels of suicidal thoughts and attempts.

People who use marijuana are more likely to develop temporary psychosis and long-lasting mental disorders, including schizophrenia. The association between marijuana and schizophrenia is stronger in people who start using marijuana at an earlier age and use marijuana more frequently.

Beyond harms to individual users, the increasingly common use of cannabis is creating dangers for everyone.

Drug-impaired driving is a critical highway safety issue. According to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, from 2007-2013, there was a 48 percent increase in weekend and nighttime drivers who tested positive for THC. Marijuana use impacts balance, coordination, memory, and judgment, and specifically impairs driving because it slows the driver’s reaction time and ability to make decisions, diminishes coordination, and distorts perception.

Most studies on states’ legalization of marijuana show it has a negative impact on road safety, with drivers who test positive for marijuana or who report using it more than twice as likely as other drivers to be involved in crashes.  Road fatalities have increased in states that have approved recreational use of cannabis. Though marijuana can be detected in blood, urine or saliva, there is no consistent standard for what constitutes legal impairment. Similarly, there is no widely used screening device, such as a breathalyzer, that police use to test for cannabis. In fact, only two states, Alabama and Indiana, have permanent or active oral fluid roadside screening programs, according to the National Council of State Legislatures.

Emergency room visits involving cannabis have surged, with most visits involving young people between 15 and 24.  Cases of cannabis poisoning have increased following legalization, an analysis of more than two dozen studies has found. The risk of poisoning went up fourfold for children.

Though states typically limit the sale of recreational cannabis products to those 21 and older, the ineffectiveness of this limit is clear: More than 30 percent of 12th graders report using cannabis, as do about 20 percent of 10th graders.

Gummies, candies, fizzy drinks, colorful packages and cartoon figures are commonplace in cannabis packaging, an alarming throwback to the tactics the tobacco industry used to lure teenagers. It took years to convince Americans of tobacco’s devastating health consequences and decades to get state and federal lawmakers to take a consistent, public-health approach toward regulating tobacco.

The legalize-now, worry-later nature of state cannabis regulation must end. It should be replaced with a well-researched, properly designed framework that recognizes that--though we shouldn’t be throwing people in jail--neither should we be hurling ourselves toward a public health crisis.