Opinion: When it comes to marijuana, there’s no safe way to introduce something unsafe

Joseph A. Ebner, MD, FACOG of Plymouth is a member of the NH Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) Advisory Committee.

“As a parent, I am concerned with the rising use of recreational marijuana in society, especially in our youth and young adults. As a physician, I see firsthand the effects of marijuana on health, and it is clear the marijuana on our streets in 2024 is not the same marijuana we or our parents may have smoked in the 1970s.”

“Daily use of marijuana among Americans more than doubled in the decade from 2010 – 2020 during a period of time when recreational use of marijuana was legalized in many states. In this same decade, while teen cigarette and alcohol use both dropped, marijuana use among teens increased. Public health initiatives seem to have succeeded over the past generation in decreasing tobacco abuse only to be replaced by a new addictive health harm.”

“Comparing today’s marijuana to that of the past is like comparing Ford’s Model T car to a Tesla. Both are automobiles, but other than that, they share very little in common.”

Read the article in its entirety HERE.