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Summary
• THC potency has risen roughly 10-fold since the 1970s, from 1-3% to 20-30% in flower and up to 90% in concentrates; the drug sold today is not the drug that hippies smoked at Woodstock.
• Cannabis use disorder (CUD) now affects 30% of regular users; among teenagers who use, nearly 45% meet the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorder; daily users are 5 times more likely to develop psychosis than non-users.
• Amotivational syndrome, characterized by apathy, blunted reward response, and reduced self-efficacy, is documented in the medical literature and strikes developing brains especially hard; the science is contested but the real-world damage to young people is not.
• America’s dispensary economy is a financial mess wrapped in heavy security glass: only 24% of cannabis operators reported profitability in 2023; a 280E tax code trap crushes margins; and the all-cash model makes every storefront a robbery target.
• Legalization advocates promised lower youth use, reduced crime, and tax windfalls; the evidence is mixed at best; youth cannabis use disorder rates have climbed 3.7-fold since 2015, and the federal-state legal conflict remains unresolved.
• The globalist fingerprint on marijuana promotion deserves scrutiny; the same institutional networks that gave us pharmaceutical opioids, social media addiction, and engineered food are now bankrolling the normalization of a potency-engineered intoxicant aimed squarely at America’s youth.
Introduction
I am 72 years old and have watched marijuana go from something you had to know a guy to find, to a product dispensed in brightly lit stores every few blocks in American cities. I practiced cosmetic surgery for 30 years and sat through more medical conferences than I can count, including some where the promoters of cannabis stood at the podium, visibly stoned, lecturing the audience about therapeutic potential.
This piece covers the full marijuana story, from pharmacology to politics, from the grow houses of California to the boardrooms of globalist investment funds that see a nation of distracted, apathetic, chronically intoxicated people and find it highly profitable.
What marijuana is and does
Cannabis is not precisely a sedative, although it often acts like one. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound, binds to CB1 receptors throughout the brain, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. The result is a mixed drug effect that combines euphoria, altered time perception, increased appetite, and impaired short-term memory. High doses produce anxiety, paranoia, and in some users, psychotic episodes that can persist long after the drug wears off.
Pharmacokinetics are important yet almost never discussed. THC is highly fat-soluble, meaning it distributes into the brain, liver, spleen, and adipose tissue almost immediately after inhalation. It reaches peak plasma concentration within 3-10 minutes of smoking. But the redistribution out of fat stores is slow. For infrequent users, the terminal half-life of THC in blood runs approximately 1.3 days; for frequent users, 5-13 days, because fat stores continuously release the drug back into circulation. This is not a drug that leaves your body when you feel sober. It is still there, still affecting your brain chemistry for days, and in heavy chronic users for weeks.
Urine drug testing reflects this biology. An occasional user tests positive for 3-5 days after a single session. A daily user tests positive for 30 days or longer after stopping. Hair tests detect use for up to 90 days. For workplace drug monitoring, the standard safe period of abstinence before a urine test is a minimum of 30 days for regular users, and more for those with high body fat, where the drug accumulates and releases slowly. The commonly cited figure of ‘a week or two’ dramatically underestimates detection risk for anyone who uses more than occasionally.
When ingested as edibles rather than smoked, the drug’s metabolism changes. The liver converts THC into 11-hydroxy-THC, which crosses the blood-brain barrier more readily than the parent compound and produces a stronger, longer, and less predictable effect. This is why so many naive edible users end up in emergency rooms. The dose feels like nothing for 90 minutes, then lands like a freight train.
The amotivational syndrome steals your children’s future
Smith coined the term ‘amotivational syndrome’ in 1968 to describe the diminished drive and desire to work among young, frequent cannabis users. The basic clinical picture includes apathy, passivity, difficulty initiating tasks, reduced persistence, and, as patients themselves describe, a blunted sense of caring about outcomes. The science around it is contested, but not in the way the advocates suggest.
Brain imaging studies tell the story. A 2016 study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that among young adults, escalating cannabis use produced decreasing activation of the nucleus accumbens, the brain’s primary reward center, in anticipation of financial reward. The brain stops signaling that conventional rewards, money, achievement, and recognition are worth pursuing. Cannabis becomes the reward system, crowding everything else out. This is not an abstract finding; this is the mechanism by which a generation loses its ambition.
A National Institutes of Health (NIH) longitudinal study found that cannabis use predicts lower self-efficacy across initiative, effort, and persistence, even after controlling for personality traits, demographics, and other substance use. A 2024 systematic review found that cannabis use and anhedonia, the inability to feel pleasure from normal activities, share a reciprocal relationship in adolescents: early anhedonia predisposes kids to cannabis use, and cannabis use then intensifies the anhedonia, creating a feedback loop that is genuinely difficult to escape.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services acknowledges the syndrome directly, warning that cannabis use in youth produces apathy, fatigue, and poor academic and work performance. Brain imaging confirms structural damage: chronic use shrinks grey matter in the hippocampus and amygdala, and alters prefrontal cortex function, the region responsible for planning, impulse control, and judgment. Adolescents are especially vulnerable because these brain regions continue to develop through the mid-20s.
The advocates argue that the science is mixed. They are right that some studies fail to find effects in adult moderate users. But moderate adult use is not what we are talking about. We are talking about teenagers using 30% THC concentrate from a vape pen daily. No study ever tested that population on those products because those products did not exist when the research was designed. The dismissal of amotivational syndrome based on studies of light adult use is like arguing that 4% beer poses no liver disease risk; therefore, 90% ethanol injections are fine.
From Woodstock weed to weapon: the potency explosion
In the 1970s, the typical joint contained 1-3% THC. Most of the product came in compressed bricks from Colombia, mixed with seeds, stems, and leaves; the actual high-THC flower made up a small fraction of what people smoked. Panama Red and Acapulco Gold were celebrated as exotic and potent. By today’s standards, they were a pharmaceutical-grade placebo.
The trajectory is documented by DEA seizure data going back to 1995, when average confiscated cannabis tested at 4% THC. By 2014, the average hit 12%. By 2018, it reached 14.88%. The current average in commercial flower runs 18-23%, with premium indoor strains regularly testing 30-35%. Concentrates, including wax, shatter, and distillates, hit 60-90%.
That is a 10-fold increase in THC dose from a single use occasion, assuming identical consumption patterns. Most users do not adjust downward to compensate. They consume the same volume and receive a qualitatively different drug experience.
The increase had two drivers. The first was the shift from outdoor landrace cultivation to controlled indoor hydroponics. Indoor growing is optimized for sinsemilla, unfertilized female flowers with extremely high THC content. Growers throughout the 1980s and 1990s discovered that eliminating seeds, precisely controlling light cycles, manipulating soil chemistry, and selecting for high-THC genetic lines produced plants that old-school Colombian farmers would not recognize. The second driver was commercialization: legal markets created economic incentives to push potency higher because customers associate high THC percentages with quality, even though the relationship between potency and therapeutic benefit is weak or nonexistent.
A 2020 University of Bath analysis synthesizing data from over 80,000 cannabis samples collected across the US, UK, Netherlands, France, Denmark, Italy, and New Zealand found that herbal cannabis THC concentrations increased by 14% between 1970 and 2017. Cannabis resin concentrations rose even faster, by 24% between 1975 and 2017. The same study found no corresponding increase in cannabidiol (CBD), the non-intoxicating compound with some legitimate therapeutic applications. The ratio of THC to CBD in seized samples shifted from 14:1 in 1995 to 80:1 in 2014. This matters because CBD modulates THC’s effects. Strip out the CBD and you strip out the natural brake on psychosis risk.
The Dutch experience is instructive. A 2018 study found that marijuana potency in the Netherlands doubled from 9% to 20% THC between 2000 and 2004. Treatment admissions for cannabis problems rose in parallel. By 2015, when potency dropped back to 15%, treatment admissions fell. Researchers estimated that each 3% increase in THC potency drives one additional person per 100,000 to seek first-time treatment for cannabis use disorder. Scale that to 44 million American monthly users, and the arithmetic is grim.
Street marijuana now commonly includes adulterants. Fentanyl, methamphetamine, phencyclidine (PCP), and synthetic cannabinoids have all been found in samples analyzed by harm-reduction laboratories. Synthetic cannabinoids, sometimes called Spice or K2, bind CB1 receptors with 10-800 times the affinity of natural THC and carry a real risk of seizure, cardiac arrest, and death. A user who thinks they are buying premium flower has no way to verify what is actually in the product without laboratory testing.
A brief history of American marijuana law
Cannabis was legal and used medicinally in the United States through the 19th century. Pharmacies stocked it. The criminalization began in earnest in 1937 with the Marihuana Tax Act, driven partly by anti-Mexican immigrant sentiment, partly by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst’s commercial interest in preventing hemp from competing with his timber holdings, and partly by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics under Harry Anslinger, who made cannabis prohibition a career project.
The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 classified cannabis as a Schedule I drug alongside heroin, defined as having high abuse potential and no accepted medical use. This classification has never been seriously revised despite decades of contradictory evidence. Richard Nixon ignored his own commission’s 1972 recommendation to decriminalize personal use. His domestic policy chief, John Ehrlichman, later admitted the War on Drugs was designed partly to criminalize Black Americans and the anti-war left, not to address genuine public health concerns.
Oregon became the first state to decriminalize simple possession in 1973. Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, and Ohio followed in 1975. The Reagan years reversed much of this, re-criminalizing possession in most states by 1983. The current legalization wave began in 1996, when California voters passed Proposition 215, legalizing medical cannabis. Colorado and Washington made history on November 6, 2012, becoming the first states to legalize recreational adult use through ballot initiatives. Colorado began retail sales on January 1, 2014. As of 2025, 24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational adult use, and 37 states have legal medical programs.
Federal law has not moved. Cannabis is still Schedule I. The state-federal conflict produces absurd results: a dispensary owner operating fully in compliance with California law can be federally prosecuted for trafficking. Federal employees and contractors tested for drugs can lose their jobs for using cannabis legally under their state’s law. Military service members are automatically disqualified. The Cole Memorandum of 2013, under which the Obama administration agreed not to prioritize federal enforcement in states with functional regulatory schemes, was rescinded by Jeff Sessions in 2018, then effectively reinstated under political pressure. The Trump administration issued an executive order in December 2025 directing the Justice Department to expedite rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, which would not legalize it but would remove the punishing 280E tax restriction.
People are still in prison for marijuana. The racial disparity in enforcement is well-documented. Among those federally sentenced for marijuana trafficking in 2024, 34.5% were Hispanic, 32% were Black, and 24.4% were White, despite roughly equal use rates across racial groups. Some states still carry multi-decade mandatory minimums for possession with intent to distribute. The national reckoning with these sentences has been slow and incomplete.
The dispensary economy: glamorous on the outside, chaos underneath
Marijuana dispensaries now outnumber Starbucks in many American cities. The business model looks simple: buy wholesale, sell retail, collect taxes. The reality is considerably more complicated.
The core problem is banking. Because cannabis is federally illegal, most traditional banks will not service dispensaries. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance and federal anti-money-laundering laws create liability that most financial institutions are unwilling to accept. The result is that the vast majority of dispensaries operate as cash-only businesses, handling hundreds of thousands of dollars in small bills per week, in buildings full of a highly desirable and portable commodity.
This creates the security theater that any visitor to a dispensary notices: the heavy exterior gates, the vestibule airlock entry, the uniformed guards, the bulletproof glass between staff and customers, and the cameras in every corner. Industry budgets for security run $100,000-150,000 annually per location, covering guards, surveillance systems, and armored-car cash transport. Washington state dispensaries reported 67 armed robberies in the first months of 2022 alone, roughly double the prior year’s pace. One large Colorado dispensary chain suffered 15 break-ins during 2020. Los Angeles data shows dispensary theft nearly doubled between 2021 and 2022.
The financial picture is sobering. Average established adult-use dispensaries generate $1.8-2.2 million in annual revenue. Gross margins on flowers run 15-25%; accessories hit 50-70%. But the Internal Revenue Code’s Section 280E, written in 1982 for cocaine dealers and never updated for the legal cannabis industry, prohibits any business that traffics in Schedule I substances from deducting ordinary business expenses such as rent, payroll, marketing, and utilities. A dispensary with $2 million in revenue and $300,000 net income before taxes can face an effective federal tax rate exceeding 70%. Many operations that look profitable on a revenue basis are unprofitable after 280E. MJBizDaily found that only 57% of standalone dispensaries were profitable in 2022. A Whitney Economics study found that only 24.4% of cannabis operators across the US reported profitability in 2023, down from 42% in 2022.
The black market never went away. Legal cannabis prices, burdened by licensing fees, compliance costs, and 280E, are typically higher than street prices. California’s illicit cannabis market is estimated to be 2-3 times the size of its legal market. In some jurisdictions, dispensaries obtain inventory from unlicensed growers to stay price-competitive. The seed-to-sale tracking systems meant to prevent this are imperfect. The promise that legalization would eliminate black market cannabis has not materialized.
Some dispensaries appear designed primarily for money laundering. They sit on corner lots in depressed neighborhoods, show few customers, maintain minimal staff, and generate suspicious uniformity in their reported sales figures. No one has systematically investigated this, and given the all-cash business model, no one is particularly motivated to look.
The growers’ and import situation
Legal cannabis cultivation operates in every state with a recreational or medical program. California’s Central Valley and Humboldt County region produce enormous volumes. Colorado, Washington, and Oregon have mature commercial markets. Indoor operations in former warehouse districts of major cities are now common.
The illegal domestic growing industry also thrives. National forests in California, Oregon, and Washington have been sites of large cartel-operated outdoor grows, sometimes employing workers in conditions approaching labor trafficking. These operations use heavy pesticide applications, illegally divert water from streams, and leave toxic residues in the environment. Law enforcement seizures document the annual destruction of millions of plants from illegal grow sites, making no apparent dent in supply.
Legal cannabis is not supposed to cross state lines, even between two legal states, because interstate commerce of a Schedule I substance violates federal law. This prohibition is widely violated and rarely enforced at the individual consumer level. At the wholesale level, sophisticated operators have found ways to move product across state lines under the cover of legal hemp transport, since hemp and cannabis are visually identical and hemp is federally legal.
Cannabis imports from Mexico, which once dominated the US market, have declined as domestic production increased. Mexican cartels have shifted their US operations toward fentanyl and methamphetamine, which are more profitable per pound. However, Mexican-grown cannabis still enters the market through border state smuggling channels and is typically lower-quality, lower-potency product sold at the bottom of the market.
Pesticide contamination in commercial cannabis is a genuine hazard. Cannabis plants are potent accumulators of whatever they are grown in, a property called phytoaccumulation. Regulated legal grows still show pesticide contamination in testing, because the regulatory frameworks for cannabis agriculture lag decades behind those for food crops. Illegal grows use whatever chemicals keep pests away without concern for residue levels. A 2020 study of California dispensary products found pesticide residues in a significant fraction of tested samples.
Combustion of any plant material produces polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), carbon monoxide, and respiratory irritants. Cannabis smoke contains many of the same toxic combustion products as tobacco smoke, though without nicotine. Regular cannabis smokers show increased rates of chronic bronchitis and respiratory symptoms. Unlike tobacco, the association with lung cancer is less clearly established, possibly because tobacco smokers typically smoke 10-20 cigarettes per day while cannabis smokers use much less total plant material. Vaping concentrates avoids combustion products but delivers massive THC doses with its own risk profile.
Sativa, indica, and the pharmacology of the high
Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica are the two major species, with most commercial products being hybrids of both. The distinction matters to consumers and dispensary staff, though the science behind the marketing is somewhat thinner than advertised.
The traditional description holds that sativa strains produce an energizing, cerebral, creative high, while indica strains produce body relaxation, sedation, and the couch-lock phenomenon. The reality is more complicated: the effects depend more on the specific cannabinoid and terpene profile of the individual strain than on its species classification. Many strains labeled sativa at one dispensary are labeled indica at another.
For sleep, high-myrcene indica-dominant strains with moderate THC and elevated CBD have the most supporting evidence. CBD has anxiolytic and sedating properties without the intoxicating effects of THC, and its absence from most high-potency commercial products is precisely why those products are less useful for genuine medical purposes. For anxiety, the picture is paradoxical: low doses of THC can reduce anxiety while high doses reliably produce it; this is one reason that the explosion of 30% THC products is counterproductive for the medical claims the industry makes.
Synthetic THC exists as well. Two FDA-approved medications, Marinol (dronabinol), which contains synthetic delta-9-THC, and Syndros, a liquid version, are approved for anorexia in HIV/AIDS patients and chemotherapy-induced nausea. Cesamet (nabilone), a synthetic cannabinoid analog, is approved for the same purposes. These synthetic formulations allow standardized dosing, which is the fundamental problem with smoked or vaped cannabis for medical purposes: no one reliably knows the dose they are receiving. Whether synthetic THC is safer or more dangerous than plant-derived cannabis for health purposes has not been definitively studied; the mechanisms of action are similar but the full chemical context is different.
How addictive is it?
The claim that marijuana is not addictive is false. Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is a recognized psychiatric diagnosis in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), defined as continued cannabis use despite clinically significant impairment. The DSM-5 also recognizes a cannabis withdrawal syndrome: dysphoria, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, decreased appetite, and restlessness that typically begin within the first week of abstinence and resolve over 1-3 weeks.
By the numbers: approximately 30% of all cannabis users develop CUD at some point. Among those who use daily or near-daily, 17-19% develop dependence. In 2024, nearly 7% of all US teens and adults met the diagnostic criteria for CUD; among those aged 18-25, the rate was nearly 16%. Among teenagers ages 12-17 who use cannabis, 45.2% meet criteria for a substance use disorder. The American Academy of Pediatrics calls this a public health emergency.
The comparison to other drugs is instructive. Roughly 9% of tobacco users become dependent, 15% of alcohol users, 23% of heroin users, and 30% of cannabis users. Cannabis is more addictive than tobacco by this measure. The common cultural framing, that weed is harmless and non-addictive while tobacco is dangerous, does not survive contact with the data.
Daily cannabis users are 5 times more likely to develop psychosis than non-users. The association between high-potency cannabis and psychosis is particularly strong: users of 30%-plus THC products show dramatically elevated psychosis risk compared to users of lower-potency products. A 2019 European multicenter study published in The Lancet found that use of high-potency cannabis products was associated with 5 times the risk of psychotic disorder compared to non-use. In cities where the most potent strains dominated the market, such as Amsterdam and London, the investigators attributed nearly half of the new psychosis cases to cannabis use.
Total US cannabis use has surged. In 2024, 44.3 million Americans used cannabis monthly. Cannabis use rates among adults now exceed tobacco use rates for the first time in American history. Rates of substance use disorder involving marijuana are 3.7 times higher in 2024 than in 2015. This is not a stable situation; it is an accelerating one.
Children are the most important issue
Everything described above is worse for adolescents. Their brains are still developing. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for impulse control, planning, and judgment, does not fully mature until the mid-20s. THC disrupts the pruning and myelination processes that occur during adolescence, with lasting consequences for cognitive function.
Adolescents ages 13-18 who use cannabis are more than twice as likely to develop mild or moderate depression and more than 3 times as likely to develop major depressive disorder compared to non-using peers. More frequent use in this age group links to increased odds of suicide attempts and greater severity of depressive episodes. Regular adolescent cannabis use that begins before age 15 is associated with IQ drops averaging 8 points that persist into adulthood.
Comment: This is half a standard deviation, a huge effect.
Roughly 4,200 individuals ages 12-20 try cannabis for the first time every day in the United States. Nearly 5% of adolescents report first use before age 13. These are not abstract statistics. These are children whose brains are being altered during the developmental window that determines the cognitive and emotional equipment they will carry for the rest of their lives.
When I was in medical school, it was understood that certain interventions during critical developmental periods produce irreversible changes. We knew this about thalidomide, about alcohol, about ionizing radiation. We know about THC, too, or we should. The difference is that no one is making money off the others anymore.
Does legalization help or hurt: what the natural experiments show
The advocates promised that legalization would lower youth use by moving cannabis out of the unregulated black market; reduce crime by eliminating drug arrests and defunding cartels; generate tax revenue for schools and public services; and allow sensible regulation of a product people were using anyway.
The reality is mixed. Tax revenues are real: legalization states collectively generated $4.4 billion in cannabis tax revenue from adult-use sales in 2024 alone. Crime associated with cannabis arrests has dropped in legal states. Some data suggest that property crime drops modestly in areas where dispensaries open, possibly because occupied and monitored storefronts reduce the appeal of vacant-lot drug dealing.
Youth use is the central question, and the evidence does not support the optimistic projections. The Monitoring the Future survey, which has tracked youth substance use for decades, has not shown the legalization-reduces-teen-use effect the advocates predicted. Teen marijuana use disorder rates have increased substantially in the years following state-level legalization, though isolating causation from correlation is methodologically difficult.
Portugal decriminalized all drug use in 2001, treating possession as a public health matter rather than a criminal one and investing the savings in treatment. Drug-related deaths and HIV transmission among intravenous users fell dramatically. Use rates stayed roughly flat or declined modestly. This is often cited as proof that decriminalization works, and by some measures it does: the criminal justice harms of prohibition are real. But Portugal’s approach was decriminalization combined with aggressive investment in treatment, not commercialization and promotion. The American experiment is different.
Singapore sits at the other end of the spectrum. Possession of more than 500 grams of cannabis is a mandatory death sentence. Singapore has among the lowest drug use rates of any country in the world. The social cost in civil liberties is extreme. This is not a model any Western democracy would adopt, but it is a clean data point: draconian enforcement does reduce use, at enormous human cost.
The most useful domestic comparison is between US states. A 2018 study found that violent crime dropped 13% on average in states near those that had legalized medical marijuana, attributed partly to cartel revenue reduction. Studies comparing early-adopter recreational states like Colorado and Washington to comparable non-legalizing states have found modest increases in adult cannabis use, roughly flat or slightly increased teen use, some evidence of increased cannabis-impaired driving, and no clear evidence of increased use of other drugs. The picture is genuinely complicated, and anyone who tells you it is all positive or all negative is selling something.
Globalist fingerprints
I have documented in prior posts the pattern by which globalist-aligned institutions promote policies that weaken national cohesion, lower fertility, and reduce the capacity to resist centralized control. The cannabis normalization campaign fits this pattern with precision.
Follow the money. The venture capital and private equity firms that bankrolled commercial cannabis legalization include some of the same institutional investors heavily involved in pharmaceutical opioids, social media platforms engineered to maximize addictive engagement, and processed food companies that optimize for palatability over nutrition. The goal is not to give people a recreational option; the goal is to create large, captive, dependent customer populations whose political engagement is low and whose critical faculties are chemically suppressed.
The academic and media apparatus around cannabis promotion deserves the same scrutiny I have given pharmaceutical-funded research. Organizations that advocate for cannabis policy change receive funding from cannabis industry interests. Researchers who present at cannabis-related medical conferences are often financially tied to cannabis businesses. I have sat in those conference rooms and watched speakers deliver word salad about endocannabinoid system optimization while manifestly struggling to form complete sentences. These are not disinterested scientists; they were high.
The specific targeting of youth is not accidental. High-potency vape products in candy flavors, gummy edibles in children’s packaging, social media marketing that reaches teenagers, dispensary storefronts in neighborhoods with high concentrations of young people: these are the choices of an industry that knows its most valuable customers are those who develop dependence early and maintain it for decades. The tobacco industry ran the same playbook.
The apathy that high-THC cannabis produces in regular users is not a side effect. For the psychopaths running these institutions, it is the product. An apathetic population does not vote, does not organize, does not resist. The collapse of civic participation among heavy cannabis users is not a coincidence; it is a feature.
Once we fell for pharmaceutical opioids, the perpetrators faced minimal consequences and moved on to the next campaign. Cannabis normalization follows the same template: capture the regulatory agencies, fund the academic advocates, control the media narrative, mock the skeptics as reactionaries, and collect the revenue while the damage accumulates in the population.
Humans are remarkably durable.
We have been absorbing mercury from dental amalgams for 150 years, and most of us have not dropped dead. We were jabbed with COVID vaccine bioweapons, and millions survived. We have endured healthcare systems that kill more people than they save. We adapt, compensate, and carry on.
Many people use cannabis regularly and function at high levels. The people most severely harmed are the young, the genetically predisposed, the already mentally ill, and the heavy users of high-potency concentrates. The casual adult who uses a low-potency edible occasionally for sleep is probably not heading toward psychosis or motivational collapse. This caveat is not a defense of the industry; it is an acknowledgment that individual outcomes vary.
The lesson from human resilience is not that the assault does not matter. It is that even when we are being deliberately poisoned, we fight back at the cellular and social levels. Parents notice something wrong with their children and stop it. Clinicians document the harm and publish it. Skeptics read it and push back. The system wants us to be passive and overwhelmed. Refusing to be either is the appropriate response.
Synthesis
The marijuana story is not primarily pharmacology. It is about what happens when a society allows commercial interests to define the acceptable level of harm for a product that alters brain chemistry, with special targeting of the developmental years when that alteration is most damaging and most permanent.
The 10-fold increase in THC potency between 1970 and today was not inevitable. It was the result of market incentives operating without regulatory constraint, the same dynamic that gave us opioid tablets of escalating strength marketed as safer alternatives to street heroin. We know how that ended.
The clinical evidence on adolescent cannabis damage is not ambiguous. The brain imaging data, the longitudinal studies, and the population-level data on depression, psychosis, and cognitive decline in early users are consistent. The argument that science is too mixed to act on is the same argument the tobacco industry deployed for 40 years. We should not need another generation of destroyed children to settle the question.
Legalization, done properly, is probably better than the current state of affairs: it reduces racially discriminatory enforcement, generates tax revenue, and enables some quality control. But legalization as currently practiced, with 30% THC flowers and 90% concentrate vapes sold with candy branding in stores near high schools, is not harm reduction. It is commercialization with a public health theater.
The population that most needs protecting from this drug is the one with the least political power to demand it: children and adolescents. Their interests are not represented by cannabis industry lobbyists, state tax revenue projections, or academic researchers with industry ties. The adults who should be protecting them are instead debating whether amotivational syndrome is sufficiently documented to warrant concern, while dispensaries open across the street from middle schools.
The globalist institutions that benefit from a passive, apathetic, chronically impaired population are not going to police themselves. The parents and clinicians who see the damage accumulating before them will have to do it. This means demanding potency caps. This means keeping commercial cannabis out of neighborhoods with high concentrations of young people. This means treating youth cannabis use disorder as the medical emergency it is, not a lifestyle choice to be tolerated. The drug warriors were wrong about many things, but they were right that protecting developing brains from powerful intoxicants is a legitimate public health goal. We threw that out along with the excesses, and we are paying for it now.
Selected references
Freeman T, et al. Changes in delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) concentrations in cannabis over time: systematic review and meta-analysis. Addiction, 2020.
ElSohly MA, et al. Changes in cannabis potency over the last two decades (1995-2014): analysis of current data in the United States. Biological Psychiatry, 2016.
Lac A, Luk JW. Testing the amotivational syndrome: marijuana use longitudinally predicts lower self-efficacy even after controlling for demographics, personality, and alcohol and cigarette use. Prevention Science, 2018.
Martz ME, et al. Association of marijuana use with blunted nucleus accumbens response to reward anticipation. JAMA Psychiatry, 2016.
Di Forti M, et al. The contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe (EU-GEI): a multicentre case-control study. The Lancet Psychiatry, 2019.
Hasin DS, et al. Prevalence of marijuana use disorders in the United States between 2001-2002 and 2012-2013. JAMA Psychiatry, 2015.
National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 2024.
Freeman TP, Winstock AR. Examining the profile of high-potency cannabis and its association with severity of cannabis dependence. Psychological Medicine, 2015.
Monitoring the Future Survey. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 2023.
Cannabis Use Disorder. StatPearls. National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), updated 2025.
Thanks to Peter Reznik for the idea for this post.
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Ever since he smoked a blunt on Joe Rogan’s show people have assumed that smoking pot is what gave Elon Musk the entrepreneurial drive to become the world’s richest man. But people forget that Elon also dropped a lot of acid, consumed magic mushrooms, cocaine, MDMA, ayahuasca and ketamine. What happened to Elon cannot all be attributed to pot.
Musk was made by the CIA. Like Bezos, Zuckerberg, and people like Winston Churchill and Chump for that matter, the CIA/Establishment made them, they’re hardly the come-from-the-middle-class types that they’re billed as. Quite the opposite in fact. A short dive into their pasts is all it takes.
Kids should stick to cigarettes and alcohol and not to high thc potency marijuana? Preferably no use to any of the 3.
Let em.smoke.. good riddens
Damn roommate. hes 56 , no car. Works as some cook, smokes weed .. hes a fing idiot .. his mommy drives him to work. FORGETS TO FLUSH TOLIET. uD83DuDE33 LEAVES STOVE ON, DOESNT CLEAN, STINKS .. HIS BODY ODOR
Brian Mason pinellas County Florida. A total fing LOSER!
POST IT
Lol
Well, your are far from impressive with this diatribe, so seems like you may as well spark one up too, champ.
Dont care bout your silly ass dope mind comments
Dame Bramaige
I see that and hope you get the help you need my friend. Perhaps pick up an English primer to learn some elementary grammar while you’re at it?
Please, try and get well and have a most blessed day recouperating.
Reefer Madness. Good grief.
It is reefer madness in Colorado for sure. Or the drug zombie apocalypse. Iu2019m over it.
Really? I live in Colorado. What about us is “reefer madness”?
I wonu2019t disagree with the points you have raised in this essay but you have failed to mention many aspects which have value: cannabis is very helpful to those with spasticity and muscle tension, nothing works better with fewer side effects. You mention the effect of additives such as fertilisers and sprayed on fentanyl etc and yet these are not quantified and are very relevant to the scientific analysis. You conflate the problems of smoking (burning) along with vaping and yet these two consumption methods are very different. Many of the people who have problems perceived to be caused by cannabis use already had mental illness problems and were looking to self medicate. In short, this is an interesting essay but woefully biased especially referencing the American market.
I suggest you go find a podcast or Youtube about how China has taken over the Marijuana growing trade in Maine and what the Chinese liberally spray all over the plants, fully unmonitored and unregulated. Things have changed. Its Russian roulette, and the wrong cocktail has life-altering consequences. God requires us to value the gift of life in every way. We dont poison our lungs with burning plants or take unnecessary risks.
I appreciate that cannabis is being grown and sold in an unhealthy way but that doesnu2019t mean the plant itself should be demonised. Itu2019s very easy to grow in the garden and so you know the provenance. The audience for Robertu2019s Substack is multi national so confining it to a discussion of what happens in the American market and then extrapolate that to cannabis generally is as I said, biased.
If you can find seeds? They are carefully controlled.
I have seen many ads for seeds from Canada. But it takes skill to grow from seed. When you say sale of seeds is carefully controlled, what do you mean?
In Colorado, small plants that are cloned female, are available for purchase in some dispensaries. And for those who are concerned about how cannabis is grown, there are many dispensaries that sell what they grow, and will show you. Cannabis is an amazingly sturdy, hardy plant, insects and diseases rarely bother it outdoors, all it needs is water.
Thank you for this.
Itu2019s true. I see the vape oils with 80-90% THC and am disgusted that the U.S. has allowed this to happen. I took one hit off a vape pen and hallucinated and had a migraine the rest of the night. I have tried the dispensary weed and if Iu2019m sober for months and take few hits, I start throwing up within the hour. Something is wrong with that stuff, and I donu2019t trust the people selling it to tell me if itu2019s laced with pesticides and fungicides.
Also, nearly three years ago, our daughter arrived to visit us in full psychosis after using a high concentrate THC pen. She spent a week in a psychiatric hospital followed by months of therapy. Sheu2019s still not the same. She is still drawn to it.
Iu2019m not a prude, but I am very careful about what goes into my body. Iu2019m not going to trust the same people who pushed opioids on us to tell me itu2019s safe.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. Quite telling.
I discovered by accident that THC is a bronchodilator. Some athletes use it pre workout to boost their endurance. It probably saved a vacation we took to hike in CO as a family member couldn’t comfortably breathe due to the altitude and nearly had panic attacks. Next day we took 1/2 2.5 edibles and were hiking like the locals with minimal (or no high). The only situation I would advocate using it… for me. I don’t like the feeling and the new strains are so unpredictable I refuse to drop $60-100 for an experiment that’s likely going to fail. Marijuana anonymous is a fairly new thing and growing! Pharma ultimately gets another pay out as they probably get those addicted on some form of antipsychotic to “treat” their dependency.
On your last point, thats exactly how the rehab centers work, and it becomes a wicked cycle for addicts in and out of rehab clinics until all their resources, or more often, their family’s are drained.
Oh I know from experience! It’s a wicked system. I pushed back hard and hopefully was part of the reason the medical director was fired.
Yes, it’s been shown to counter the effects of tobacco use. Best is 15-20% THC which can be calculated with a formula
Thank you, Dr. Yoho, for this deep dive into the history behind cannabis!
When I first opened it, I thought I would just skim over a little bit and move on to the next email. As I started, it became so intriguing and interesting that I couldnu2019t move on!
Iu2019m over 54 years in recovery and hadnu2019t realized how dangerous the simple pot that I smoked in my teens had become. Now I know how and why it is damaging our youth.
I will be passing this along to my children, who donu2019t use drugs, for the benefit of my grandchildren. I hope and pray that anyone else who reads this does the same!
My ex-husband is 73 and has been smoking pot since he was 14 yrs old. He worked very hard and never showed any side effects of his pot smoking but on the other hand, it was not easy, nor fun, to live with this. I think some people are wired differently and pot does not affect them in the same way as most others. He always remained focused and full of energy and ambition, etc. I smoked at that time, long ago now, and wanted to stop as it did affect me and I could not function well on it. I quit and never smoked it again. I am against it, as it is something all people use to alter their reality. That alone signifies immaturity and lack of ability to make good decisions for your life. I see these old users as very immature in many ways. They do not grow and mature like people should. That alone is why I hate the USE of marijuana on the scale it is used today. I see nothing good about any of it. The only use I see is when someone uses it to control nausea when they are very ill and from side effects of life saving drugs.
Usually the only people who advocate or like pot are the ones using it. They LOVE it. They never see the pitfalls and don’t care about growth and maturity being halted. Thus, addiction is real.
I’m sure it’s like other things, if you’re using it every single day, it’s best to take a look at yourself. If you use it irregularly it’s an entirely different matter. I have orthopedic pain, and when I REALLY need a good night’s sleep, I’ll have some and sleep like a baby.
What about CBD oil … the full or broad spectrum ones. I see several cancer protocols (including Joe Tippens original protocol) that use CBD oil, so just curious. Thanks.
harmless
Thank you for the reply.
A lot of CBD will have a small amount of THC.
Clear, concise and informative.
We are truly fortunate to have a few conscious and truthful scientists on our side.
Your information is useful and welcome to consider. I correct not the content, but references at the beginning.
Pot was not specifically a hippie thing. It was simply readily available in many places, as you say yourself. At the university of 40,000 students I attended during the “hippie” period in the late ’60’s, marijuana use was so prevalent and accepted that the school newspaper’s front page headline announced, “Grass Prices Are Up….”
Also, Woodstock is protrayed now, decades later, as a hippie event. It was a music fest. Period. Yes, some stereotypical hippie-looking people are featured in film records of it.
I was wondering if the reuteri yogurt would help you and now you mention it at the end of your post! I made it a few years ago but saw a video with Dr Davis that got me interested in making it again. Amazon is delivering the ingredients today so I can make it and have some by tomorrow. I also got Akkermansia because of Mercolau2019s new book and Iu2019m considering fermenting it too.
I ferment the three species I’m most deficient in
We do instapot X36 hours with Fairlife whole milk & Lactobacillus Reuteri (1 capsule sprinkled in).
Dr. Tamara Santa Anau2019s a gem!
u2764uFE0FuD83DuDE4F
Excellent article.
Here in north Florida we were right in the middle of all the wild west sort of doings that were the marijuana trade in the 1960s, 70s and up to today.
There was great camaraderie among smugglers, growers and users, which I would now list as another part of the addictive nature, social validation.
“Best friends” from the past would no longer speak to me once I quit growing weed, getting high, and smuggling in the early1980s.
This was also about the time the cocaine guys showed up in force and these were not laid back hippie types like everyone in the weed scene. They were cold blooded killers intent on capturing the market over a pile of dead bodies.
The reasons I quit getting high were that I was building my first scrap metal business and it was glaringly obvious I was screwing up by having my decision making severely impaired by smoking weed.
The second motivator was the draconian confiscation laws put in place about the same time. Get caught with weed and they could automatically take everything you owned.
I didn’t want to lose my property and business assets.
Not to mention doing time.
I had quit growing just in time.
Within the next year the black helicopters with infrared scanners showed up and a whole lot of growers were busted.
Learning now that so much of the counterculture was fabricated by the feds to stop the anti war movement makes me thankful I quit when I did without having life long consequences.
I would never go back to doing drugs if only for the reason mentioned here that they were a tool to fill the prisons with the people the system didn’t like.
“they were a tool to fill the prisons with the people the system didn’t like.”
They sure were. That’s drug war for ya.
It should be illegal to sell it. If you want to smoke it grow your own. Share it but not for any compensation.
You do not mention how Cannabis oil with high THC has been shown to cure cancers. This does not create the “high” if given via suppository.
Supply references.
Look up Dr. Robert Melamede. There are several doctors in Israel who have verified this.
Dr. Ethan Russo is also a prestigious scientist involved with Cannabis. I found the book: The Survivor’s Guide to Medical Cannabis by Regina Nelson, PhD
I read the above book and it was quite interesting.
I think she is referring to RSO, aka Rick Simpson Oil, taken by the back door method. He has 2 books (poorly written, but he was not an author, so good on him for making this info public). There was also a documentary, pre-Covid times, following a woman with brain cancer. She was taking RSO but at the last minute caved to traditional treatment which in the end killed her (surprise). Apparently, when they checked for the cancer, not sure at what stage, it was already gone. Sorry, I canu2019t remember much more but this might still be found online. They sell RSO by syringe for the protocol in Canada (online) for about $1200 CAD.
I have read his book and watched his video. They are both very informative.
A number of years ago a 7 year old had lymphoma in her chest. Chemo did not touch it. However RSO cured her and quickly.
https://www.cannabisscience.com/
Here’s the references
Good essay, and yes the current scene is a nationwide disaster. The addictiveness of the modern stuff is clear. The old 4 – 8% stuff was an entirely different beast – “Poems, Prayers and Promises” by John Denver covers it pretty well. There was more CBD in those also, with the synergy enabling a lot of precious bonding and easy laughter, rarely seen today.
The saddest part I think is the loss of its tremendous medical potential including massive benefits to conditions ranging from cancer to PTSD to Parkinson’s. In right dosage, the increase in interoception and insight alone is powerful. Unfortunately, that dose has morphed from a couple (shared) tokes to the impossible 1/4 toke – and as you point out, that is only if one is lucky enough to find a strain not infinitely hybridized and chemicalized into poison.
I would add that we are also in extreme societal times where sacred plant medicines, used wisely, can still open up one’s awareness to more agentic, holistic, transformational, and Earth-honoring possibilities than the online A I control grid being implemented by rich warmongering covid-foisting pedophiles at the wheel. Am I being paranoid? Naive? I still do think that even a few “stolen” moments of freedom remain priceless.
Having said this, everything you have written is true. And this makes it all a very ugly, complex situation demanding great care.
Where I end up is looking to other transformational technologies as more primary sources of self-unfoldment: ceremony, spirituality, shadow work circles, yoga, breathwork, meditation, nature immersions, hard work, fitness, empathic relationships, etc. The underlying need for self-actualization, for journeying, for transcendence (for literally being able to imagine a future at all!) should not be overlooked in the conversation. Finding strategies to meet this primal human need more directly with less cost – especially for youth whose souls are being neglected in so many ways – offers a healing path forward.
Thank you for this important essay.
lovely note
When we were pitched the legalization of marijuana in CA, I was thinking it would be the stuff from the 80s and 90s. Those that pushed for the legalization must have known it was already lethal. As Dr. Yoho writes, follow the money. I know kids whose futures were derailed by doing weed in high school. Schizophrenic episodes are real. A young guy who should be at Yale is going to community college because of his mental instability. Luckily, my kid, like me, didn’t like weed because it caused anxiety. At our local dog park, young guys think nothing of vaping/smoking in the morning. Can you imagine if someone were popping open a beer that early?
Do not take the hemp derived Delta 9 or similar it is far worse, even a small amount at bedtime. As an adult, I have used THC over the years for sleep but couldn’t get it in the state I moved to so obtained Delta 9. It metabolizes differently. I took about 2.5 mg at 9pm, went to sleep but was still “high” (all of the symptoms that people hate feeling high get) for more than 24 hours. I suspect that even if a large nan took a whole 10 mg. Delta 9 gummy, he would be mostly incapacitated,,, dangerous driving etc.
I really appreciate how thorough and objective this article appears to be. It makes clear that cannabis effects are complicated and that outcomes are a mixed bag. I want people to be fully informed of all the health risks of cannabis, and this is very helpful.
I cringe however at the notion that generating more tax revenue is a benefit. Someone’s not paying attention to how badly governments spend our money, which includes the, as noted, highly destructive restrictions that force dispensaries to transact in cash.
Let’s keep government out wherever possible, save for restrictions on sales to minors, enacted at the local level. Let’s keep doing research, keep expanding knowledge and awareness, and expose the exploiters for what they are: dirty rats who are quite happy to do great damage to young lives.
Above all, keep preaching to friends who use to keep their dosages DOWN! People are amazingly ignorant when it comes to dosage, especially when using for the first time, or for the first time in a long time (e.g., after they leave a job or career that does drug testing).
This is exactly right!! Watched as my brother over time using Marijuana deteriorated! All the psychosis was present. One day I found him DEAD!
A deep sadness will always be with me. He was 12 years younger & now DEAD! Donu2019t Fu2026.,king use it or CBD! And do Not give it to your pet!!
Thank you for alerting people!
My friend’s 15 year old son took a heavy dose and developed immediate and full blown epilepsy… He’ll never drive and is a constant source of nagging anxiety for her.
The cloying sweet stench of that plant evoked in me a visceral revulsion the first time I smelt it in the pages of a book I’d borrowed. I did try some oil to help heal a wound 10 years ago, to no avail. The weed and I just don’t resonate.
“Cannabis use disorder (CUD) now affects 30% of regular users; among teenagers who use, nearly 45% meet the diagnostic criteria for substance use disorder; daily users are 5 times more likely to develop psychosis than non-users.”
Haha. Now do alcohol, Robert.
Thanks for your comment. The alcohol post is already written, and it’s in a lineup waiting to be dropped.
uFEFFI appreciate this article and the research behind it. Thanks doc. However, one also needs to look at the benefits of the plant itself, outside of the industry skulduggery.
I am in Canada, where cannabis is legal, right or wrong, there it is. The perps credited with making cannabis criminal – Carnigie, Anslinger, Rockefeller and the like were hell bent on besmirching its name in order to ring in the age of pharma. Apparently, these perps took one of Godu2019s herbs that was used medicinally (as you mentioned), ruined its name, gave it a new name, u201Cmarijuanau201D (racist against Mexicans) and cleared out the competition for their new pharma products. The war against hippies was also in full swing.
One or more of them had a hand in that ridiculous fear porn movie, later called u201CReefer Madnessu201D, in order to dupe the public into thinking cannabis would cause you to murder your neighbour. And we all know how influential TVs can be. As you say, always about the money.
While cannabis may have some issues with the newer high THC strains and the developing brains of the young, its biggest side effect, in my experience, is a wild case of the giggles and wondering where the chips are. Of course, responsible folks would only partake after a long day when the potential of couch-lock would not be an issue. Nothing wrong with sleeping on a cloud either. Much better than popping sleeping pills. And as for being lazy, absolutely not if used properly, i.e., not for breakfast.
Who did those studies saying cannabis was harmful? The NIH was mentioned. Maybe it was Fauci? uD83EuDDD0 Are we trusting anything that came out of there? Ditto for all the other mainstream agencies. What were their interests? Who paid for the studies? If they are saying this is bad, then Iu2019m filling up my vape with fresh herb and pressing on. (Not those nasty e-vapes, a real vape, easy on the lungs.) Iu2019ve also read that real tobacco, not with the additives in cigarettes, is also a miracle plant. I can see the same pattern here.
And what about those with cancer, when an appetite would be a miracle? What about the work of Rick Simpson (RSO) at curing cancer? He claimed the medicine was in the THC. Of course, used as a suppository, the TCH provided no high, which worked well for many. He also witnessed some with schizophrenia become well, while taking the herb. Did anyone study that, I wonder? If it was not that great, why did they run him out of Canada when he offered his cure, perhaps naively, to the cancer board?
So much skullduggery behind a medicinal herb, all at the hands of a perverted generation. Iu2019m not buying it. There are those who grow cannabis organically in their yards, completely legal in Canada and elsewhere, to take the edge off of their anxiety in the evening. I also find CBD to be a miracle indeed. Fresh herb, juiced, has been known to be excellent for Crohnu2019s and colitis.
It may have some problems, if any of these studies are real and true, but its benefits cannot be denied. I once read that one would have to consume 1500 lbs of cannabis at once in order for it to kill them. Compare that to iatrogenic deaths and itu2019s looking quite good. A good giggle or two is well-needed these days anyway. uD83DuDE09
The only way to kill someone with pot is to drop a bale of it from the roof on their head. Alcohol? Drink a smallish bottle of strong liquor all at once, and chances are huge you’ll drop dead on the spot.
That’s a great comment and I appreciate it, but we have many medicinal options. And my opinion remains after doing all this work that the hazards and problems of cannabis outweigh the benefits. But again, thank you for the effort you put into your response, and it’s another point of view.
The biotech company cannabis science has been using cannabis to cure cancer for years now. It also promotes neurogenesis, which is the creation of new brain cells. After smoking it for 20 years, mensa told me my IQ was in the 96th percentile. It also promotes apoptosis which is how it cures cancer. Indoor growing doesn’t increase the level of thc at all, selective breeding does.
We have thc receptors so our metabolism does use it for certain purposes. If your body doesn’t need it anymore you stop reaching for it. It’s not physically addictive and it was even announced on the radio in 1975 in the usa that it cures cancer. Growing your own is the safest way. You have certainly not researched this very well and seem to be quoting only govt sources. It’s like you’ve been programmed to avoid lots of research on cannabis. I’d suggest you go to the cannabis science website and look at their success in curing the worst kinds of cancer. Rick Simpson in cannabis who was an ex chemist and then a farmer, cured his whole town in Canada with it. There’s a documentary on it which documents the research you’ve failed to find. It’s also been known since the 70s that it’s good for epileptics. I used to have epilepsy. Sorry Robert, but this article is a load of bollocks because it is missing so many sources like you’ve been pushed to miss the research on benefits. Looks like you’ve been captured by the government to promote that it causes harm to stop people finding out the huge health benefits.Cannabis is also not physically addictive compound. Cannabis indica makes you sleepy, while sativa makes you talkative and energetic as you say.
Wherever you got your information, you’ve been fooled into missing the huge body of research that proves its benefits.
It’s best to grow yourself so you don’t have to use pesticides and can grow it organically without water contaminated with aluminium. You certainly haven’t researched this well at all. Cannabis has also been shown to. The Dsm5 says a lot of things which are false. Cannabis users get use disorder because of the type of people they are, not because of cannabis use. Cannabis is proven to cause a lot of healing, especially cancer. In 1975 it was announced it cures cancer by govt scientists. Rick Simpson cured his whole town of cannabis. It’s great for nausea too. Grow. Your own and your safe.
Promoting neurogenesis and apoptosis is a good thing. I had to smoke it every day for years due to chronic health issues which have now resolved and I no longer reach for it during the day. It is far safer and causes less social problems than alcohol as it doesn’t cause violence like alcohol does.
There is no evidence it’s physically addictive. It looks like you’ve been had.
Mark is my friend, so I will refrain from rebutting his viewpoint.
And you are mine of course
Both CBD by itself and thc has also been demonstrated to stop the shakes of Parkinson’s and as it promotes the creation of new brain cells is very beneficial for Parkinson’s patients all over the world. I think you actually need to check the veracity of your sources instead of just believing theyust be true. Cannabis use also eats into the profits of the pharmaceutical industry
Well, I have a pot brownie at bedtime and I’m going to carry on doing that!
This is a shocking hatchet job, Robert, damaging trust in other things you evaluate. You dwell on the negatives; there is no section of your article that lists the positives which have been heavily documented, from being an effective anti-emetic for cancer patients for whom the usual ondansetron pills et al quit working, to neuropathic pain, to anti-epilepsy, all the way to sleep aids. A whole book could be written about the good effects.
You rehash the argument from the 80s drug warriors — omg, the stuff is stronger! Well, if it’s stronger, you need less of it. Which is good news for the users, esp. if they smoke it. Always has been. It needs care in its use — of course it does. But it will never poison you or kill you like alcohol, which needs a lot more care in its use.
That said, I am against any use by kids. Alcohol, tobacco, pot, or pharma pills.
Edit: All the more shocking since there seems to be visual documentation that pot helps substantially in Parkinson’s tremors. Interested? Look it up on YT.
You are so correct!
Thanks for your comment, Erin. I don’t find it convincing, but I appreciate the effort you’ve taken, and of course, I’ve seen those Parkinson’s improvements on YouTube, and I have tried smoking pot, and it doesn’t work for me. Best and wait for what I do to alcohol in a few weeks.
https://www.cannabisscience.com/
here’s the website of the biotech company curing cancer with cannabis
it hasn’t lowered my IQ, caused psychosis or addiction. Funnily enough it was found I was autodidactic the year I started smoking it. it’s not physically addictive. certain personalities cause overuse disorder not cannabis. I’ve never witnessed any bad effects and regular use stops you getting high. there’s videos of people stopping Parkinson’s shakes with CBD alone which is anti-psychotic
You do repeat yourself often in your responses. AI?
It’s because there has been a lot of problems with the oppo substack app this morning, which has posted comments before I’ve finished them and I’m unable to find them to edit them. I couldn’t even reply to your assumption on the substack app. I had to use the web version to do so.
Assuming things which aren’t real isn’t a good look. Perhaps in future you should question the reasons for things more thoroughly, instead of jumping to conclusions
This is what AI tells me this morning about Colorado youth use:
“Youth cannabis use in Colorado has declined since legalization, contradicting earlier prohibitionist fears that it would increase. Past-30-day use among high schoolers fell from 19.7% in 2013 (just before retail shops opened in 2014) to 12.8% in 2023, representing a drop of nearly 7 percentage points.
While some state data from 2020 indicated that overall use “has not significantly changed” compared to pre-legalization levels depending on the specific timeframe analyzed, the most recent trends show a substantial decrease. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reports that youth use is now lower than the national average and significantly lower than the rates observed in 2009 (24.8%) and 2013 (19.7%).”
Edit: And I can attest that the Colorado market, after experiencing its gold fever days, has substantially declined. Many shops closed. People who really want it or need it medicinally grow their own — its ridiculously undemanding to cultivate outdoors.
Sounds hopeful.
I once spent some time working with a CPA who had figured out how to keep records to beat Section 280E, shifting the various costs into COGS, Cost of Goods Sold. Wrote a book on it, not exactly a best-seller. This required an intensive amount of recordkeeping on the part of the outlet, and monitoring on the accountantu2019s side. It worked, his clients kept more profits than others. All cash. He tried to have me service a client, but when I saw the work involved, I declined. Everything had to be perfect or the IRS could have a field day. He charged outrageous fees and nobody complained. Havenu2019t talked to him in a while, he thought Federal rules might make this gift horse go away by normalizing things. He was Jewish and didnu2019t smoke, btw.
I survived the 70’s just fine, thank you, and retired well, but don’t recommend it for anybody starting out their path in life. I got lucky.
MARIJUANA IS A DEMON uD83DuDC7F
Youu2019re a misinformation spreader itu2019s not called CUD you lost all credibility with your jargon pumped garbage of throwing spaghetti at the wall and regurgitating bits of what you hear incorrectly. Your just someone trying to sell things
Be respectful. We are all doing our best here.
Has anyone looked at cold processed CBD? Soaked in 50/50 alcohol/coconut oil it produces no THC without being heated. Without THC are there still harms?
It seems harmless to me from what I’ve read, but my focus was on THC.
I suppose there could still be the contamination issue. And there are some of sensations like the munchies and other mild weirdness. But nothing major that I have noticed.
As we have come to anticipate this treatise is comprehensive and covers most issues.
Weed is mostly an alternative to alcohol arguably the better choice.
Hybridization is responsible for the huge increase in % THC . Users choose varieties for specific reasons. Indicus strains are useful for muscle relaxation or sleep assistance.
Sativa strains are motivating but also facilitate creativity.
Most strains are hybrids. Knowing the parents of the cross determine effects.
Knowing how much to ingest, like any drug requires knowledge.
Harvard trained MD Andrew Weil studied many psycho active plants in indiginous use for centuries around the planet.
The conclusion was that refining is associated with addiction and the societal woes like theft and violent crime. Unrefined substances did not have these issues.
Those conclusions were prior to the widespread breeding and cloning that are now
the entire weed market.
The fact that dispensaries grift for the state is hardly surprising. Consumers want access and choice. That is exactly what they have. Growers are not profitable because the state has become the recipient of the $$$. A strong case can be made it was far better before.
Addictive personalities unsurprisingly addict. Substance has mostly to do with availability.
Weed is still superior to other narcotics mostly in pill form.
As mentioned the “strains” commonly sold have THC % that make them dangerous.
Knowledge and useage constraints are not difficult to manage for most users.
Gummies are candy with THC. Not a great choice.
Weed smokers unlike alcohol impaired typically do not kill others in automobiles.
Long term usage was not associated with psychosis in years past. The current strains have created a serious problem due to potency.
The human body has cannabinoid receptors, they did not develop them to receive THC from weed.
THANKS Rob foe this reminder! It is incredible that such an OLD plant which gave humanity food, clothing, fuel and so much more, is being used to, according to this title, turn people well, into idiots.. I’m not familiar with the details of temperature influence on the THC level, but that alone is totally scary:
– https://cannabis.net/blog/opinion/the-rise-of-gmo-hemp-the-latest-approval-by-the-usda-on-badger-g-with-0-thccbd
– https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajherrington/2022/06/22/new-gene-technology-allows-growers-to-boost-thc-levels-in-cannabis/
– https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full/10.1139/cjb-2023-0084
genetic modifications of anything NATURAL will end up cancerous..
I bet you knew this would be a controversial post, Dr. Yoho!
My only wish is that the advocates could try to make their case without using alcohol to validate their argument. It removes their credibility. That reasoning made it very easyy to shut down the potheads in my town when they came begging for a cannibas dispensary. From firsthand experience, a pot smoker’s critical thinking skills and ability to persuade is noticeably dulled. Let’s not tell them though. 😉
You need every bit of your brain these days to survive. And I agree with your viewpoint above.
Great article. It breaks my heart reading about the different ways we are being poisoned and sabotaged.
While there may be some merit in some of the author’s comments, I have to strongly disagree with the premise that marijuana is bad. I have interviewed nearly 500 people on my Cannabis Health Radio podcast and many of those people were given only months to live primarily with a serious cancer diagnosis. In nearly 30 interviews with people who had brain tumors they all used cannabis and all but two of them are alive today. They didn’t smoke cannabis or vape or consumed edibles. they used cannabis oil either orally or by suppository to avoid the psychoactive effect. To date, there have been 57,000 studies of cannabis. It’s easy to cherry pick a study to support one’s argument but to condemn a plant that has been used for thousands of years for health benefits is, to me, disingenuous.
I greatly appreciate the praise that I’ve gotten for this episode and the time my readers have taken to comment, even the negative ones. I wasn’t sure it would resonate, but as you see, the vast majority of comments are positive.
After working on this thing and reading about all these problems over and over, I have resolved not to let any of this stuff into my body ever again. It’s just too dangerous; it’s filled with pesticides and sometimes adulterants, the quality is uneven, and it’s just too damn strong.u00A0We have thousands of therapeutic herbs and medications, and I just can’t see spending any time with one that has all these side effects.
My alcohol post is already written and I will drop it within a couple of weeks.
Platoon. Bunny didnu2019t. Sergeant Barnes didnu2019t. Elias did. Chris hadnu2019t, then did. They all were killed. Except Chris. But Chrisu2019s psychotic break turned him into Charlie Sheen & it was all downhill from there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_-RGlLePnI
But Grace Slick? Cu2019mon! No matter what. No matter where. The Airplane/Starship was alright.
I tried edible this & that combinations of consonants.
All lower case, magnifying lens doses.
CBD. CBN.
For insomnia.
I got some nothing.
I got something the guy behind the counter said is called u201Ccouch-lock.u201D
I got a little sleep. Real little.
Indica/nu2019t sleep at all, not really.
I got anxiety.
I got paratroopernoia.
I got hung over.
I got re-upped to the realization that Vietnam was seriously overrated & that it was then airlift-freighted right back here with Charlie Sheen.
So I thought, maybe I need magic mushrooms.
Or LSD.
Then I saw some guy from KY, & a TX governor, on Rogan, extolling the cure for Vietnam, the Sacklers, *&* insomnia: Ibogaine.
Ibogaine for insomnia is illegal, tho. TPTB wonu2019t even let it be used to kick the Vietnam habit. Thatu2019s how you know itu2019s good: the man say you canu2019t have it.
Got to go to Mexico for those sweet dreams.
Before I could get a passport tho I read that shrooms was a Rockefeller & the CIA.
And LSD was Leary & CIA.
And that Ted Kaczynski was a normal, well-adjusted, 16-year old genius at Harvard when some OSS psychologist helped CIA MK Ultra him into the Unabomber.
And I read the biggest drug smuggling/selling operation in the world is CIA.
And I decided that Ibogaine may work best as a talk show joke by Hunter Thompson because it might work too well as a u201Cdepatterningu201D agent u2026 for CIA.
And Rogan is close to Rogaine & Ibogaine might put hares in your head & that Mobius Strip Teases it all back to White Rabbit Gracie Slicku2019s advice to Go Ask Alice:
Lewis Carroll:
I don’t know what you mean by ‘glory’,” Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. “Of course you don’t- till I tell you. I meant ‘there’s a nice knock-down argument for you!'”
“But ‘glory’ doesn’t mean ‘a nice knock-down argument’,” Alice objected.
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean- neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master-that’s all.”
Alice was too much puzzled to say anything; so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. “They’ve a temper some of them- particularly verbs: they’re the proudest- adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs- however, I can manage the whole lot of them! Impenetrability! That’s what I say!”
Through the Looking Glass, Ch. VI
Rope-a-dope goes way back. See how the Brits used opium to soften up the Chinese, for example.
Fu Manchu/rian candidate? Who? Me?!!!
u201CAll the kingu2019s horses & all the kingu2019s men couldnu2019t put Humpty back together again.u201D
“Walter Duranty popularized the phrase “You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs,” which he used to rationalize the brutal actions of Stalin during the Soviet Union’s First Five-Year Plan, including the devastating famine that followed. This phrase became a standard justification for the harsh measures taken during collectivization.”
Does u201Ccollectivizationu201D mean u201Crepatterningu201D after u201Cdepatterningu201D?
Or am I confusing that with kumbaya & coca-canola commercials & teaching the world to sing-sing the panopticon fantastic?
I wouldnu2019t touch the crap with a hundred mild pole! Iu2019d rather live life all natural with my wits about me at all times. But, thatu2019s just me!