Weed is (Nearly) Legal, So Why Am I Not Dancing in the Streets?
Age changes the risk-reward equation.
Fifty years ago, when I was young and stupid, marijuana was hands down my drug of choice. For a straight-laced, straight A, rule-following, risk-averse young fellow, the thrill of doing something illicit was part of its appeal, but the real attraction was the way the drug made me feel. It allowed me to let go of deadlines and responsibilities for a few hours. It also lowered my stress levels (when it didn’t make me paranoid). But most of all, it made me feel creative and free from linear thinking in a way that I longed to be but couldn’t muster the courage to be unassisted.
So you might well think I would be overjoyed now that marijuana (or cannabis) possession is not illicit, if not exactly licit, in 46 states. In fact, my jubilation has dampened considerably. I will not be returning to that youthful extracurricular in the foreseeable future. And I have my reasons.
First, to clear up some confusion: Legalization in most states has thrown open the doors for new products, and marketers have swarmed through those doors like hyper-charged lemmings. In 2019, 270,000 U.S. retailers sold cannabis products. That has created a lot of noise in the public sphere, which I will try to explain.
Know Your Cannabis
The cannabis plant, from which we get both marijuana and hemp, has something like 100 different chemical compounds. The two most significant are CBD and THC. When you look at research studies about cannabis use, it’s important to note whether they are talking about CBD, THC, or both. The two compounds are very different.
THC is the psychoactive ingredient, the one that makes you feel “high.” It acts on different parts of the brain, including the sensors that respond to pleasure and release dopamine into the body, resulting in a euphoric, relaxed feeling.
CBD has no psychoactive properties. Congress essentially legalized CBD in 2018 by removing hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, which had made possession of it a felony since 1970. CBD is being marketed in non-prescription health remedies for Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, anxiety, and more. Only one CBD product, Epidiolex, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating epilepsy and is available by prescription. All other CBD products are unregulated.
More Potent Than Ever
Several concerns keep me from leaping onto the cannabis bandwagon. The first was implanted in my brain when I interviewed Mitch and Emily Clionsky, co-authors of Dementia Prevention: Using Your Head to Save Your Brain. Mitch noted a dramatic increase in emergency room visits by older adults using cannabis. One reason, he explained, is the marijuana available in the 1960s and 1970s typically contained a 4% concentration of THC; today’s THC products are 18 to 30% THC. By the time you feel the full impact of the high potency THC, you may have seriously overindulged. “In other words,” he said, “the drug is six to seven times stronger, your brain is 50 years older, and that’s going to cause some problems in how you think.”
The body is 50 years older as well. Slower functioning kidneys, liver, and digestive system mean the THC will stay in the body longer. THC, like alcohol, can alter the senses and create a higher risk of falls or injuries. For those who have heart conditions, THC increases the risks of heart attack, stroke, arrhythmia, or angina. THC can also affect how other medications work, so those already taking medications (prescription or over the counter) should ask a physician or pharmacist about potential drug interactions.
Finally, there is the question of how long-term use of THC impacts brain function. Regular use appears to affect memory, concentration, decision-making and general thought processing. And contrary to the consensus of past decades, medical experts now believe people can be addicted to THC.
Buyer Be Wary
As for CBD, the market for CBD products is like the Wild West, and by Wild West I mean patent medicine shows. If you believe the advertising, CBD will cure what ails ye. It’s the universal solvent for every malady.
Because the CBD products do not require FDA approval, they are not regulated as far as drug purity, accurate labeling, or scientifically proven effectiveness. CBD products are not supposed to contain THC, for example, yet in a recent sampling of 84 CBD products purchased online, 18 contained THC and more than 25% contained less CBD than stated on the label.
The scientific research on cannabis is sketchy, and there’s a reason for that. That same Controlled Substances Act of 1970 made cannabis illegal to grow, manufacture, distribute, possess, or inhale. As a result, scientists have conducted few randomized studies, comparing test groups with groups taking placebos.
Until more studies are done on CBD products and standards are imposed, the buyer had better beware. You pay your money, you take your chances. Standards would be helpful on THC products as well, to enable those of us with older bodies and minds to indulge more carefully. More studies on THC are also needed to establish how THC interacts with other drugs and with the body’s organs.
So no cannabis for me, thank you. I’ll reconsider my decision if and when I’m in hospice.
