Marijuana in America: Potent, Widespread and Spreading

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Marijuana use in America is growing as more states legalize the drug.

But the dangers of marijuana use are being ignored, even as warning signs grow.

Surveys show daily marijuana use is outpacing daily alcohol use several times over, especially among younger adults.

What makes this especially problematic is that marijuana today is more potent. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that it has four times as much thc as it did in the 1990s, and some products are now more than 20 times as potent.

Emergency rooms are reporting rising numbers of patients with cannabis poisoning.

And with cannabis edibles becoming more common, more toddlers are accidentally ingesting it. Between 2019 and 2022, cannabis-related ER visits from children nearly quadrupled.

Growing numbers of pregnant women are using marijuana, which is harmful to fetal development. A 2019 study found thc in 22.4 percent of tested umbilical cords.

The Wall Street Journal reported, “Cannabis use during pregnancy is associated with lower birth weight, developmental delays, learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and emotional problems.”

In addition, states that have legalized marijuana have experienced rising homelessness, increased drug violations in public schools, more people using even harder drugs, and more fatal car crashes.

Yet even in the face of such evidence, 24 states have legalized marijuana for recreational use, and 38 states for medical use.

America’s demand for drugs keeps rising—and all indications are that, in many ways, this makes the country weaker.