No amount of marijuana is safe for teens
But the growing body of evidence on cannabis's effects on kids suggests this is not true at all.
Cannabis legalization efforts across the U.S. have greatly accelerated over the last 15 years. Despite some recent success at anti-legalization efforts (e.g., Florida and North Dakota voters rejected in 2024 an adult use bill), the widespread public support for cannabis reform has translated to nearly half of U.S. states permitting adult use of cannabis, and 46 states with some form of a medical cannabis program.
Though all legal-marijuana states have set the minimum age at 21, underage use has become a significant health concern. National data indicate that in 2024, 16.2 percent of 12th graders reported cannabis use in the past 30 days, and about 5.1 percent indicated daily use. To compound matters, product potency levels of the main intoxicant in the cannabis plant, THC (or Delta-9), have skyrocketed, from approximately 5 percent in the 1970s to upwards of 95 percent in THC concentrate products today. Even street-weed is routinely five to six times more potent than it was back in the day.
The pro-cannabis landscape has likely moved teen perceptions of cannabis use. A prior encouraging trend of the 1970s and 1980s, when more and more teens each year perceived use of cannabis to be harmful, is now in reverse. Only 35.9 percent of 12th graders view regular cannabis use as harmful, compared to 50.4 percent in 1980.
This is happening even as research is showing that cannabis is more deleterious to young people than we previously believed.
The negative effects of cannabis use on a teenager can be seen across a range of behaviors. Changes may be subtle at first and masked as typical teenage turmoil. But ominous signs can soon emerge, including changes in friends, loss of interest in school and hobbies, and use on a daily basis. The usual pushback against parental rules and expectations becomes anger and defiance. For many, underlying issues of depression and anxiety get worse.
And there is a vast body of scientific research indicating that teen-onset use of THC use significantly increases the risk of addiction and can be a trigger for developing psychosis, including schizophrenia.
The pro-cannabis trend is not occurring in a vacuum. Those entrusted with protecting the health and well-being of youth — parents, community leaders, policy makers — have dropped the ball on the issue. Policymakers tout exaggerated claims that THC is a source of wellness and safer than alcohol or nicotine. In some states, cannabis-based edibles are sold in convenience stores. Many parents have a rearview-mirror perception of cannabis, as they assume the products these days are the water-downed versions from the 1960's and '70s.
Aggravating matters are the influences of some business interests. The playbook from Big Tobacco is now being used by Big Cannabis: political donations, legislative lobbying, media support, and claims that solutions to social problems will follow legalization.
The debate on the public health impact of legalizing cannabis will continue. We hope the discourse and policies will follow the science and give priority to the health and well-being of youth. An international panel of elite researchers on cannabis recently concluded that there is no level of cannabis use that is safe, and if use occurs, it's vital to refrain until after puberty. The National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute on Drug Abuse also agree with these guidelines. One state — Minnesota — is requiring school-based drug prevention programs to include specific information on cannabis harms, a hopeful trend for other states to follow.
When recreational cannabis is made available to adults, perhaps we assume that legal restrictions to those age 21 and older is a sufficient guardrail. But history tells us that youth will indulge in adult-only activities. The pro-cannabis environment in the U.S. poses a public health challenge to young people. There isn't a single challenge of being a teenager that cannabis will help solve. Sadly, this is a message that is not getting enough attention.
Naomi Schaefer Riley is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where she focuses on child welfare and foster care issues. Ken Winters is a senior scientist at the Minnesota branch of the Oregon Research Institute and is the co-founder of Smart Approaches to Marijuana Minnesota. This essay is adapted from a chapter in the forthcoming edited volume, 'Mind the Children: How to Think About the Youth Mental Health Collapse.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
Raskin demands documents on Maxwell prison transfer, interview with Blanche
House Judiciary Democrats are launching a probe into the transfer of Ghislaine Maxwell to a lower security prison, arguing the move creates 'the strong appearance that it is attempting to cover up the full extent of the relationship between President Trump and Mr. Epstein.' Maxwell, a close associate of deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein, met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last month and sat for hours of questions about the actions that led to her conviction on child sex trafficking charges. Shortly thereafter, she was transferred out of a Tallahassee, Fla., facility to another prison in Texas. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the panel, said the new, lower security prison has 'greater freedom for inmates' and 'prior to this extraordinary transfer, [was] categorically off limits to sex offenders.' 'These actions raise substantial concerns that the administration may now be attempting to tamper with a crucial witness, conceal President Trump's relationship with convicted sex offenders, and coax Ms. Maxwell into providing false or misleading testimony in order to protect the President. The transfer also appears to violate both DOJ and Bureau of Prisons (BOP) policies,' Raskin wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and BOP Director William K. Marshall III. The letter demands a series of documents related to the transfer, as well as a transcript and recording of Maxwell's meeting with Blanche. The letter outlines the strict guidelines for prison transfers as well as the unusual speed at which Maxwell's was initiated. As a sex offender, Maxwell would typically be ineligible for a minimum-security federal prison camp like the one in Bryan, Texas, where she now lives, as such facilities offer 'access to the community.' The ban is seldom waived, something that Raskin said takes 'multiple levels of review that would ordinarily take months to complete,' typically requires new evidence, and inmates then usually have to wait months for an opening at such a facility. The facility where Maxwell is now held was listed as among the ' Best Jails in America to Serve Time.' 'Ms. Maxwell, however, appears to have short-circuited the entire review process and jumped the queue, receiving a place in Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Bryan within a matter of days. Neither DOJ nor BOP has provided anything like a satisfactory explanation for providing Ms. Maxwell this uniquely favorable treatment,' Raskin wrote. Documents obtained by Allison Gill show some of Maxwell's BOP classifications, including that her sex offender status was waived by management to allow her to move to a lower security facility. Raskin demands a list of all administration officials who 'were aware of, were involved in, or approved' the transfer, as well as all documents and communications related to the matter. He also asks for 'any possible benefits to Ms. Maxwell, including transfers, changes to conditions of confinement, pardons, commutation, or changes to DOJ positions in ongoing matters.' Raskin noted that the transfer also came as Maxwell is under pressure to testify before Congress – with the House Oversight Committee issuing a subpoena for her testimony with the backing of both parties. 'There can be no question that your actions have served to send a clear message to Ms. Maxwell in the lead up to any testimony before Congress and the American public: this Administration can punish or reward her as it sees fit for its own purposes,' he wrote. Raskin likewise asks for a transcript and recording of Blanche's conversation with Maxwell, noting the unusual nature of having the No. 2 DOJ official interview an inmate, a task that typically falls to career prosecutors directly involved with the case. 'These meetings were highly unusual for several reasons. Mr. Blanche, who until ten months ago served as Donald Trump's personal criminal defense lawyer, met with Ms. Maxwell and her attorney with no line prosecutors present. The meeting took place just days after DOJ leadership fired one of the chief career prosecutors on the Epstein matter,' Raskin wrote, a nod to the removal of Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, who previously worked on the Epstein prosecution. 'The need for this meeting was undercut by DOJ's recent contradictory statements that its thorough review of the Epstein files, which reportedly identified repeated references to the President, 'did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.'' Blanche previously said he would 'share additional information about what we learned [from Maxwell] at the appropriate time.' The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment, while BOP declined to comment on the substance of the letter. 'The Federal Bureau of Prisons responds directly to Members of Congress and their staff. Out of respect and deference to Members, we do not share our Congressional correspondence,' the agency said in a statement.
NBC News
3 hours ago
- NBC News
How redistricting became the burning hot center of Democratic politics
It was once an issue that made voters' eyes glaze over. But in the last several weeks, the once-arcane subject of redistricting — underpinned by Texas Democrats' extraordinary exodus from their state to block Republican plans to redraw maps — has transformed into the burning hot center of Democratic politics. Potential 2028 White House candidates have sought to put themselves at the center of the fight against what they call a GOP power grab in Texas. So, too, have a bevy of Democratic governors, members of Congress and candidates for office across the country. Far from the days of old for a party mocked for sending 'strongly worded letters' while Republicans steamrolled them, Democrats are now firing their own flamethrowers. It's precisely what the rank and file want to see from a party they're fed up with and disappointed in, Democrats say. 'There are not that many moments when politics break through to normal people. This is breaking through … because of how ruthless people are seeing Republicans be, and they want to see their Democratic leaders fight just as hard,' said Josh Marcus-Blank, a Democratic consultant who has worked on senatorial and presidential campaigns. 'Any [Democratic] voter thinking about 2028 is mad right now, and they really want Democrats to stand up and fight back.' President Donald Trump elevated the issue to the national stage when he said he wanted Texas to carve up its congressional map to create up to five more Republican districts to protect the party's narrow House majority in the 2026 midterms. While both parties have gerrymandered their states' congressional districts in the past, the move in Texas stands out because it seeks to rip up the state's map mid-decade, rather than after the new census every 10 years. Democrats left the state to deny a quorum in the Texas House and prevent the GOP's plan from moving forward. The move ultimately may only delay the action, as Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to repeatedly call special sessions until he can push through the new map. But as Abbott moved forward, the heavy hitters of the left moved to get in on the action. Democrats have already gerrymandered his state to the hilt, but Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, used another route into the spotlight. In June, he quietly discussed a way for Texas Democrats to take refuge in his state on the eve of a legislative special session. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened to pursue a redraw of his state's congressional maps if Republicans move forward with their plans in Texas. Newsom, however, would need to circumvent an independent commission that controls the redistricting process in California. 'They want to change the game,' Newsom said of Republicans. 'We can act holier than thou. We could sit on the sidelines, talk about the way the world should be, or we can recognize the existential nature that is this moment.' In another escalation on the issue, Newsom declared Tuesday night that Trump had missed a deadline and so California would be 'historic' and 'end the Trump presidency,' he said in a social media post that mockingly emulated the kind of statement Trump would make. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, declaring, ' We are at war,' also said she would look at ways to counter Texas' plans. Any new map in her state wouldn't take effect until after next year's midterms. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a possible presidential contender, held a live social media forum and posted a video about the issue. 'What it shows is that Republicans believe that they will lose Congress unless they change the maps before the next election,' Buttigieg said. After Texas Republicans first publicly considered redrawing the map mid-decade, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green took turns teeing off on the issue from the sidelines of the National Governors Association meeting in Colorado in late July. 'My party can't stand by and watch it happen and have the Congress taken away from the people's will, whatever that is. It's completely unethical for Texas to do this — to redistrict. It's an obvious attempt to steal elections,' Green said in an interview. 'If the courts won't stop it, then you're going to have to fight fire with fire.' In Illinois, where a competitive race is underway to replace retiring longtime Sen. Dick Durbin, the leading candidates appeared alongside Texas Democrats at news events. One day, Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi vowed to build a wall against Trump's efforts, and the next, it was Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. 'Now is our time to stand up and fight. President Trump and Gov. Abbott, we are watching you. In Illinois, we don't sit on the sidelines. In Illinois, we don't take kindly to threats, and in Illinois, we fight back,' Stratton said before a splay of TV cameras last week. 'If Trump and Texas Republicans won't play by the rules, we will look at every option available to stop their extreme power grab, and nothing will be off the table.' Andrew O'Neill, the national advocacy director for the progressive grassroots group Indivisible, referred to some of the Democrats' remarks and actions as 'productive ambition.' 'Democratic leadership amongst Democratic voters — it's in the toilet right now. The Democratic base is furious with the state of their party,' O'Neill said. He added that any Democrats hoping to draw attention on the national stage must show the base they know how to take off the gloves. 'If you take the sort of quiet-adult-in-the-room, 'we're just going to be responsible' approach, nobody pays attention to you, and nobody hears your message,' O'Neill said. 'So it's all well and good that you put out a boring press release that says you believe in democracy and fair maps, but if you're not actually taking the fight to Republicans and drawing that strategic conflict, in the attention economy we currently live with, nobody's going to hear you.' Hosting Texas Democratic lawmakers in Illinois has given Pritzker a platform to play protector-in-chief, vowing to stand in the way of Trump and Texas officials who authorized civil arrest warrants. 'There's no federal law that would allow the FBI to arrest anybody that's here visiting our state,' Pritzker said Sunday on NBC News' 'Meet the Press.' 'So it's a lot of grandstanding. That's what this is all about.' Meanwhile, Newsom and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former House speaker, stood with a half-dozen Texas lawmakers Friday in Sacramento, where Newsom declared California would 'nullify' Texas Republicans' map if they moved forward. There are some signs Democrats' actions are gaining traction. For instance, a new Siena College poll found that Hochul's job approval and favorability ratings have ticked up since June as she has been front and center in the redistricting debate. Texas state Rep. Ramon Romero Jr., who leads the Democratic Hispanic Caucus and is among those in Illinois sitting out the special session, said he has been emboldened by the public's response. 'People have reached out to me that I've never heard from,' he said. Romero relayed feedback his brother, a schoolteacher, has received. 'Every day, he says, 'Man, you know, everybody's coming up to me, telling me how proud they are of you and for the fact that they didn't even know what redistricting was and now they know,'" Romero said.
NBC News
3 hours ago
- NBC News
As Democrats slam Trump's D.C. crackdown, Mayor Bowser walks a fine line
In the end, President Donald Trump's offer was one that Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser could not refuse. In mobilizing the D.C. National Guard, pressing federal agents into urban law enforcement and taking control of the Metropolitan Police Department — all in the name of fighting violent crime in the nation's capital — Trump invited Bowser to cooperate with his administration. The law, federal money and a long-standing threat to repeal self-government in the city lined up behind him, giving Bowser, who one former aide described as having a rare ability to "remove emotion" from political and policy calculations, little choice but to comply. "What I'm focused on is the federal surge and how to make the most of the additional officer support that we have," Bowser told reporters after a Tuesday meeting with Attorney General Pam Bondi. That's not to say Bowser is thrilled with the position she finds herself in, effectively handing over law enforcement in her city to a president with whom she has had a complicated relationship since his first term. During a videoconference with Washington, D.C., community leaders Tuesday evening, Bowser described Trump's maneuvers as an "authoritarian push." But on the whole, her response has been far more measured than those of Democrats — both in the D.C. area and nationally — who, less encumbered by practical consequences of a fight with the president, have repeatedly and forcefully hammered Trump. "The Trump administration has consistently broken the law and violated the Constitution to further the personal and political agenda of a wannabe king," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement Monday. "We stand with the residents of the District of Columbia and reject this unjustified power grab as illegitimate." In a Monday news conference announcing his assertion of power through an executive order, Trump called Bowser "a good person who has tried," adding that he acted because "she has been given many chances." As Bowser noted during a Monday news conference, the city and federal agencies have a long history of working together to plan, execute and protect special events in the city, including during both of Trump's terms. The two are also largely aligned on the goal of bringing the Washington Commanders back to the city from the Maryland suburbs, and Bowser attended a White House news conference on the topic in May. But Bowser criticized Trump in the summer of 2020 when he deployed federal law enforcement officers in the nation's capital and activated the D.C. National Guard to combat protests against police violence. Those forces, including the U.S. Park Police, were used to violently break up a peaceful demonstration outside Lafayette Square, just steps from the White House, clearing a path for Trump to walk to a nearby church to address the news media. In a letter to Trump in June 2020, before officers on horseback drove demonstrators away from the park, Bowser accused him of "inflaming" and "adding to the grievances" of protesters, creating a more dangerous dynamic. In order to push federal agents and guardsmen into the streets, Trump declared an emergency in Washington, D.C., even as violent crime rates in the city have been falling. Bowser is at a disadvantage at a time when her administration is fighting to get Congress and Trump to reverse course on a law enacted this year that froze $1 billion in city money. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in May that he would move "as quickly as possible" to fix what some Republicans said was a mistake in the drafting of the law. The Senate passed a change earlier this year, but the House, which is out of session for its August recess, has made no move toward sending it to the president for his signature. Beyond that, federal law plainly gives the president the power to assume control of Washington's Metropolitan Police Department for up to 30 days at a time when he declares an emergency, as he did this week, and to activate the D.C. National Guard. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that roughly 850 federal law enforcement officers and agents fanned out across the city Monday night and made 23 arrests on charges ranging from homicide and drug crimes to skipping out on a fare and reckless driving. Leavitt did not reply to a request for comment on Trump's relationship with Bowser, nor did city spokesperson Susana Castillo. Justin Bibb, the mayor of Cleveland and president of the Democratic Mayors Association, said in an interview with NBC News that municipal leaders across the country are watching what's happening in Washington — on the heels of Trump activating the California National Guard to assist with immigration enforcement in Los Angeles — with wary eyes. "Absolutely, we're concerned about it," he said. "I want to be very crystal clear about something: We do not want the National Guard in our cities.' Bibb also defended Bowser's handling of Trump's crackdown this week, pointing to the unusual situation Bowser finds herself in compared to leaders of other major cities. 'She understands and recognizes that she's in a unique position where there's no real statehood in D.C., and her autonomy can be limited, but at the end of the day, she's going to continue to do the job she's been doing on reducing violent crime, with or without the support of Donald Trump,' he said. Trump has publicly mused about returning the limited powers of Washington's local government to federal control. Since 1973, the city has operated under a "home rule" charter granted by Congress that allows for residents to elect a mayor and city council. But ultimately, the Constitution gives Congress authority to determine the laws of the nation's capital. Though residents of Washington, D.C., pay federal taxes, the city does not have voting representation in Congress. Declining to directly criticize Trump, Bowser nodded to the city's subservient position during her Monday news conference. "He has prerogatives in D.C. unlike anywhere else in the country," she said of Trump. "There are things that, when a city is not a state and not fully autonomous and doesn't have senators, that the federal government can do."
