What Makes Today's Cannabis Different?

The marijuana now available to teenagers isn't the marijuana most parents grew up with.

How much stronger is today's cannabis?

In the 1970s, the THC content in marijuana flower was 2 to 3 percent. Today, the flower on dispensary shelves is typically 15 to 20 percent.¹ The concentrates teens are most likely to encounter—dabs, vapes and edibles—can be 50 to 90 percent THC.

Imagine if the beer you grew up drinking was now actually vodka. You can think about cannabis the same way. It's the same plant, but it's a much stronger drug.

Why does perception of cannabis not match reality?

Marijuana is now a $30 billion industry in the U.S.² When a product is legal, it gets advertised and marketed—and that messaging often frames cannabis as a wellness product rather than a drug. Many teens have absorbed the impression that today's marijuana is safe, even therapeutic.

The research doesn't support most of those wellness claims. A review in the Journal of the American Medical Association found little evidence to support most of the medical applications cannabis is often marketed for.³ When recreational markets opened, dispensaries largely dropped the medical framing—but with federal rescheduling now underway and tax advantages for medical products on the horizon, that framing is poised to make a comeback. Either way, the public perception of cannabis as a benign, therapeutic substance has stuck.

What does cannabis do to a teen's developing brain?

The adolescent brain is still being built well into the mid-20s. Cannabis use during that window is associated with trouble with memory, difficulty making complex decisions and—with high-potency products specifically—increased risk of psychosis and suicidality. A recent study in JAMA Health Forum found that any past-year marijuana use among 13-to-17-year-olds was associated with significantly higher rates of psychotic, depressive, anxiety and bipolar disorder diagnoses by age 26.⁴

Many teens also turn to cannabis as a kind of self-medication—to manage anxiety, depression or sleep problems. The research is clear that regular cannabis use tends to worsen anxiety and depression over time, not relieve them.⁵

About 70 percent of young people who try cannabis don't get addicted. But 30 percent do—and addiction is most likely to take hold before age 25, when the brain is still developing.⁶

How can parents bring it up?

Curiosity, not a lecture.

Start by asking what your teen knows, "I just learned that today's cannabis is really different from what was around when I was growing up. What do you know about it?" Then pause. Let your teen do the talking first.

Set explicit boundaries. Say,"I don't want you using cannabis, and here's why." Parents often assume their kid knows where they stand. They usually don't, unless you've said it out loud.

Practice refusal skills together. Talk through what they'd say if someone offers them a vape, an edible or a hit at a party. Some teens just say "I'm good." Others want a script ready. Rehearsing in advance makes saying it easier in the moment.

Keep the door open. Share, "If you've already tried it, or you're in a situation where someone's offering, I want to know. We'll figure it out together."

Sources:

References:

Dr. Keith Humphreys, Esther Ting Memorial Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine
Dr. Dolly Klock, Family Medicine Physician, Founder, Adolessons
Dr. Fred Muench, Clinical Psychologist & Researcher, Co-Founder & CEO, Clear 30
Dr. Jill Pearson, Board-Certified Pediatrician, President, Pathways Pediatric Consulting
Rhana Hashemi, M.S., Founder, Know Drugs, Ph.D. Candidate, Stanford University
Marcia Lee Taylor, Founder, MLT Strategies, Former President & CEO, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids