The Los Angeles Times reported April 26 that although marijuana use by youths has declined overall since the mid-1990s, the latest statistics show an increase in more serious problems related to the drug. According to federal health officials, the number of marijuana-related emergency room visits for children ages 12 to 17 more than tripled since 1994, to 7,535 in 2001, the most recent year for which figures were available.

Most of the hospital visits were for an "unexpected reaction" to the drug, while "overdose" was listed in 10 percent of the cases, "chronic effects" in 6 percent, and "accident or injury" in 4 percent.

"The stereotypes of marijuana smoking are way out of date," said Michael Dennis, a research psychologist in Bloomington, Ill. "The kids we see are not only smoking stronger stuff at a younger age but their pattern of use might be three to six blunts -- the equivalent of three or four joints each -- just for themselves, in a day. That's got nothing to do with what Mom or Dad did in high school. It might as well be a different drug."

According to federal officials, the marijuana being taken by youngsters today is nearly twice as potent as it was in the 1980s. "There is no question marijuana can be addictive; that argument is over," said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "The most important thing right now is to understand the vulnerability of young, developing brains to these increased concentrations of cannabis."

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Posted by George on 16 May 08 08:41 AM EDT

Addictive? One long standing question regarding Marijuana use is whether it is a physicaly addictive drug. Billy Martin, M.D., a pharmacologist from the Medical College of Virginia looked at the issue of withdrawal symptoms from marijuana, a hall mark study of addictive substances. With Marijuana it is so hard to tell because the chemical lingers in the body for so long that concrete withdrawal symptoms are hard to observe. When laboratory mice were given the equivalent to 1 to 2 joints of marijuana a day for 5 days, and then the mice were given a chemical that blocks marijuana's brain receptors, rapidly cutting off the effects of the drug's effects, the mice did go into physical withdrawal. The withdrawal symptoms most noticed were "wet dog shakes" (the animal shakes all over as if they were a wet dog attempting to rid them self of the water). Facial rubbing and hyper excitability were also noticed.

Posted by Christopher Farnam on 28 Apr 08 04:37 PM EDT

Marijuana is not a physicaly addicting drug. You will not see people coming into the ER for sweating or tremors from not smoking marijuana. The fact that these children are "overdosing" is a lie because a cannabinoid like marijuana can not cause the body to "overdose". Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol does not affect your body like chemicals in crack cocaine, heroin. These children more likely had marijuanna that was laced with PCP or jips, which would cause them to freak out or "day trip" which they could never come back from.

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