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Despite this, high-concentration cannabis is a huge public health risk. The deleterious effects from smoking comes from inhaling the smoldering organic compound

Despite this, high-concentration cannabis is a huge public health risk. The deleterious effects from smoking comes from inhaling the smoldering organic compounds in dried plant material. That health impact scales with the volume of smoke inhaled. If you increase the concentration of THC, users can achieve equivalent levels of intoxication with substantially less smoke inhalation. 30 years ago, THC concentrations were 5% or less. Today, legal cannabis tends to average around 25%. That's an 80% reduction in smoke-related damage.

whalesalad 4y ago
Keep in mind there are a dozen different ways to consume cannabis that do not involve combustion of plant material. Teens are getting zooted because they are using concentrate pens, which are essentially e-cigarrette's but replace PG/VG with distillate.
hestefisk 4y ago
Let alone the mental health risk from permanent THC-induced psychosis.
- hestefisk 4y ago
  Downvote? Seriously, hn? It’s a fact that hashish intake can cause psychosis.
  - ryandvm 4y ago
    You have any legitimate studies on this or are you just regurgitating 70 year old "reefer madness" propaganda?
  - GordonS 4y ago
    It is absolutely not a fact. There are a slew of papers on both sides of the argument, so it's definitely not settled. People with mental health issues are more likely to use cannabis because it helps them with those issues. And people with mental health issues are of course at higher risk of developing psychosis, so it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
  - mikestew 4y ago
    Saying it twice doesn't make it true. Just one URI, that's all anyone asks.
    - hestefisk 4y ago
      https://www.thelancet.com/article/S2215-0366(19)30048-3/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/article/S2215-0366(19)30048-3/full... One of many. I have a close family member who developed cannabis-induced psychotic disorder in teenage years. It is a well known phenomenon. I agree that it can be a chicken-and-egg question in some cases but it doesn’t change the fact that cannabis is generally bad for your mind.
    - hestefisk 4y ago
      https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15504263.2019.1674991 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15504263.2019.1... “Results: Consistent evidence, both from observational and experimental studies, has confirmed the important role of cannabis use in the initiation and persistence of psychotic disorders. The size of the effect is related to the extent of cannabis use, with greater risk for early cannabis use and use of high-potency varieties and synthetic cannabinoids. Accumulating evidence suggests that frequent cannabis use also increases the risk for mania as well as for suicide.”
      - mikestew 4y ago
        Thanks, I'll add that, as well as your other links, to the reading list for the evening.
    - hestefisk 4y ago
      Another one in the Lancet: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215036614001175 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221503661... “The ready availability of high potency cannabis in south London might have resulted in a greater proportion of first onset psychosis cases being attributed to cannabis use than in previous studies.”
  - alexk307 4y ago
    Enlighten us with the facts if that’s the case!
  - cuteboy19 4y ago
    Why is this one drug so special that it cannot possibly cause madness? I don't understand the downs either
- omniglottal 4y ago
  - unethical_ban 4y ago
    Did you read the article?
akhmatova 4y ago
Despite this, high-concentration cannabis is a huge public health risk. From the math in the rest of your post, I think you meant to say that "Low-concentration cannabis is a significant health risk". (I don't think the term "huge" applies in any case to a substance whose intake, after all, is optional).
alexk307 4y ago
I’ve heard this many times on the internet but I cannot find one source that verifies that folks were smoking 5% THC cannabis in 1980 in the United States. It’s simply not true…and trying to measure it now in a 30 year old sample will show that most of it has oxidized into other cannabinoids.
jtode 4y ago
[an 80% reduction in smoke-related damage] [is a huge public health risk] Interesting.

whalesalad 4y ago

Keep in mind there are a dozen different ways to consume cannabis that do not involve combustion of plant material. Teens are getting zooted because they are using concentrate pens, which are essentially e-cigarrette's but replace PG/VG with distillate.

hestefisk 4y ago

Let alone the mental health risk from permanent THC-induced psychosis.

hestefisk 4y ago
Downvote? Seriously, hn? It’s a fact that hashish intake can cause psychosis.
- ryandvm 4y ago
  You have any legitimate studies on this or are you just regurgitating 70 year old "reefer madness" propaganda?
- GordonS 4y ago
  It is absolutely not a fact. There are a slew of papers on both sides of the argument, so it's definitely not settled. People with mental health issues are more likely to use cannabis because it helps them with those issues. And people with mental health issues are of course at higher risk of developing psychosis, so it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
- mikestew 4y ago
  Saying it twice doesn't make it true. Just one URI, that's all anyone asks.
  - hestefisk 4y ago
    https://www.thelancet.com/article/S2215-0366(19)30048-3/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/article/S2215-0366(19)30048-3/full... One of many. I have a close family member who developed cannabis-induced psychotic disorder in teenage years. It is a well known phenomenon. I agree that it can be a chicken-and-egg question in some cases but it doesn’t change the fact that cannabis is generally bad for your mind.
  - hestefisk 4y ago
    https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15504263.2019.1674991 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15504263.2019.1... “Results: Consistent evidence, both from observational and experimental studies, has confirmed the important role of cannabis use in the initiation and persistence of psychotic disorders. The size of the effect is related to the extent of cannabis use, with greater risk for early cannabis use and use of high-potency varieties and synthetic cannabinoids. Accumulating evidence suggests that frequent cannabis use also increases the risk for mania as well as for suicide.”
    - mikestew 4y ago
      Thanks, I'll add that, as well as your other links, to the reading list for the evening.
  - hestefisk 4y ago
    Another one in the Lancet: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215036614001175 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221503661... “The ready availability of high potency cannabis in south London might have resulted in a greater proportion of first onset psychosis cases being attributed to cannabis use than in previous studies.”
- alexk307 4y ago
  Enlighten us with the facts if that’s the case!
- cuteboy19 4y ago
  Why is this one drug so special that it cannot possibly cause madness? I don't understand the downs either
omniglottal 4y ago
- unethical_ban 4y ago
  Did you read the article?

akhmatova 4y ago

Despite this, high-concentration cannabis is a huge public health risk. From the math in the rest of your post, I think you meant to say that "Low-concentration cannabis is a significant health risk". (I don't think the term "huge" applies in any case to a substance whose intake, after all, is optional).

alexk307 4y ago

I’ve heard this many times on the internet but I cannot find one source that verifies that folks were smoking 5% THC cannabis in 1980 in the United States. It’s simply not true…and trying to measure it now in a 30 year old sample will show that most of it has oxidized into other cannabinoids.

jtode 4y ago

[an 80% reduction in smoke-related damage] [is a huge public health risk] Interesting.