It’s Not Your Father’s Pot

Today’s marijuana or cannabis is different from what was smoked in the 60s and 70s. And that difference can be life changing. “Today’s marijuana is a different drug altogether than what many of us experienced,” says Julian N. Hartt Jr., MSW, LCSW, Clinical Director and Co-Founder of The Next Right Thing in West Hartford. “In our practice as substance abuse counselors we see the life-threatening aspects of this every day.” This West Hartford-based clinician specializes in community-based substance abuse and mental health treatment for adolescents (ages 16-23) and their families.

He points out four ways that today’s marihuana poses unique threats to teens and 20-something users:

Marijuana today is more potent.

The concentration of THC today is much higher. THC is the chemical compound in marijuana that produces the anticipated euphoria. “Because of this the effects on the human brain are different in several ways,” he says. “These higher levels of THC cause heightened feeling of euphoria—and what goes up comes down. With potent marijuana the trip to high (the sought-after feeling) may keep on going into a pounding heart and the shortness of breath experience of anxiety or panic-- even psychosis and paranoia. Then comes the downs—depression and irritability. Users think, ‘Another joint will level me off, right?’”

Marijuana today is delivered in more concentrated forms.

“Back in the day” users rolled a joint or maybe packed a bowl of weed. “Marijuana today is not just smoked as a leaf,” points out Hartt. He explains that today the leaf is mixed with grain alcohol and reduced over an open flame. The cooking process concentrates the solution which is then squeezed through cheese cloth into first an oil-then further concentrated into wax. The oil is nearly 70 percent THC and the wax can be 90 percent or more pure THC. Contrast this with the five to seven percent concentration of THC in the pot of the 1970s. Even today’s leaf or “bud” is 15-20 percent THC.

Marijuana today is administered or consumed in more sophisticated ways.

“I’m sure you’ve heard about edibles or pot brownies, which were available back in the day,” recalls Hartt, pointing out that marijuana is still rolled into joints, spliffs or blunts (dark brown tobacco paper). But today there are oils and wax- dabs-that can be electrically heated in what looks like a fountain pen or vape. ” The pens vaporize concentrated THC so there’s little or no odor or smoke,” he points out. “That means parents won’t identify the distinctive smell of burned marijuana. Or dabs may be smoked off small pieces of aluminum foil. If you’re finding charred, crumpled pieces of foil on the floor, closet, or in your child’s book bag, that may be what you’re seeing,” he says.

Tolerance

Users of today’s pot develop a tolerance and will often take a break to regain the high once they return. They will say things like: “Mom, I haven’t smoked in a month! See I can control it…”

Hartt points out that this is a problem because today’s marijuana stays in the body and affects the brain for a long time. “Cannabis has a very long half-life (the rate of metabolism). So tolerance develops and more is needed to reach the anticipated high,” he says. This leads to users taking what he calls “tolerance breaks” for users to recapture the high. “With more use, even with tolerance breaks, the highs and lows become increasingly uncomfortable—both physically and emotionally. At this point a pot smoker often switches to other more risky drugs: ‘downers’ like Xanax or painkillers like Percocet. Add alcohol use to mix and you have toxicity. We frequently see this pattern of use and abuse of substances in treatment programs,” says Hartt recalling some of the patients in his substance abuse practice.

He points to the case of one 22 patient whose abuse ultimately leads to hospitalization for acute psychosis: “This patient was vaping daily. He had been hospitalized several times in a three-year period. He was having hallucinations that happened three times before he came to us. He’d return to baseline with the help of medication. Promising to stay drug-free he returned to finish college. Within six weeks he resumed vaping and required yet another hospitalization for acute psychosis. He is now in a long-term residential program. Does Sam have an underlying psychiatric problem that concentrated THC teased out or was it just vaping?”

“We often see adolescents who are smoking in high school, many time with their parent’s knowledge,” says Hartt. “They go off to college, smoke more in that lax environment, don’t study, fail classes, and then get anxious and depressed. They may either drop out during the semester or find they can’t return for the following one. Their reactions may look like some kind of psychiatric disorder, but, in fact, it could very well be marijuana use,” Hartt says.

Sign of heavy marijuana use

Here are some of the signs of heavy marijuana use that Hartt advises should get parents’ attention:

• Loss of motivation and impaired attention, which is too often confused with ADHD
• Loss of interest in activities
• Mood swings with prominent irritability
• Secretive behaviors
• Regular bouts of running out of money.

“The bottom line is this: Today’s marijuana is not your father’s pot.,” concludes Hartt. “It’s more concentrated and more dangerous by far—and it is a gateway drug. Don’t justify your kids’ use of marijuana by saying ‘I did it and it’s fine. It’s just marijuana.’”

For parents concerned about their children’s drug use, The Next Right Thing will be offering free parent support groups every Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. starting Jan. 31. Anyone may attend to meet with other parents and discuss their concerns and doubts about substance abuse by emailing info@nextrightthing.net.

About The Next Right Thing

The Next Right Thing is a West Hartford-based clinical practice that specializes in community-based substance abuse and mental health treatment for adolescents (ages 16-23) and their families. Julian N. Hartt Jr., MSW, LCSW is the Clinical Director and Co-Founder. He has more than 40 years of clinical experience working with adolescents with substance abuse and psychiatric problems. He has consulted with a variety of public and private schools and universities including Simsbury High School, Choate-Rosemary Hall, Windham High School’s Health Center, and Quinnipiac University. For more information go to: www.nextrightthing.net.