California’s New Cannabis Laws Affect College-Aged Students
With states across the nation embracing the medical and recreational legalization of cannabis, it’s important young adults are informed about the benefits and risks associated with cannabis consumption during their adolescence. California is the next state moving into recreational legalization in 2018. Adults 21 or older will be able to purchase cannabis recreationally, however, young adults over the age of 18 will only have access to medical cannabis as long as they have a valid doctor’s recommendation.
Among 18- to 20-year-olds, about 47% have consumed cannabis. [1]
Risks of Obtaining Cannabis Illegally
Many young adults have often turned to the black market to purchase cannabis. The risks associated with getting cannabis illegally include being unaware of its source.
The cannabis you obtain illegally could be contaminated with substances like microbes and pesticides; microbes that can be found are E. Coli, yeast, and fungus. SC Labs, a cannabis-focused analytics lab based in California, found…
“During certain seasons we see up to 20% of the cannabis coming in for micro bio tested cannabis failing screens. This means there is a large amount of micro bio contaminated cannabis in the marketplace.”
In addition, young patients could also expose themselves to high levels of pesticides when smoking illegally obtained cannabis. Cannabis is usually not filtered before inhalation, allowing chemicals to easily travel into the body. Purchasing lab-tested cannabis with a valid medical recommendation provides young patients with the information they need about the products they wish to consume.
How can medical cannabis help youth specifically?
ADHD: Approximately 2 to 8% of the college population has ADHD, with one study finding that 20% of the population are approaching ADHD diagnostic requirements.
Of the college students who have been diagnosed with a disability, at least 25% have been diagnosed with ADHD. [2]
ADHD can have a significant impact on the social and academic lives of young adults. Students with ADHD are more likely to struggle academically and have a lower GPA than non-ADHD students. Students with ADHD also face challenges adjusting to their social environments and are at a higher risk of substance abuse.
There is still little research on cannabis to know how exactly it interacts with ADHD, but it could provide benefits similar to Adderall and Ritalin without the unpleasant side effects or withdrawal symptoms.
One of the main physiological irregularities of ADHD is the shortage of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a chemical neurotransmitter that is involved with various cognitive functions including memory and attention. Dr. Bearman, a leading expert on cannabis, states…
“Cannabis appears to treat ADD and ADHD by increasing the availability of dopamine. This then has the same effect but is a different mechanism of action than stimulants like Ritalin (methylphenidate) and dexedrine amphetamine, which act by binding to the dopamine and interfering with the metabolic breakdown of dopamine.” [3]
Anxiety: Young adults can easily get anxiety from the myriad of responsibilities they tend to on a daily basis. Balancing school, family, and one’s social life can be stressful and young adults also stress about planning for their future.
Excess anxiety can have a negative impact on a young adult’s life as 30% of college students stated that anxiety negatively affects their academic performance.
41.6% list anxiety as their number one concern and 85% reported that they can feel overwhelmed with everything that they have to do. Everyone experiences anxiety and knowing how to control it can lead to a healthier and happier life. [4]
Cannabis can help young adults with anxiety by boosting the signaling of serotonin receptors in the brain. Consuming CBD can have a physiological effect on the body, resulting in lower heart rate and blood pressure due to anxiety. In a small study focusing on patients with Social Anxiety Disorder, researchers found…
“CBD significantly reduced anxiety, cognitive impairment, and discomfort in their speech performance,” whereas the placebo group experienced “higher anxiety, cognitive impairment, [and] discomfort” [5].
No one wants their life consumed by anxiety and stress, cannabis can be beneficial in allowing young adults to manage responsibilities without becoming overwhelmed.
Law Enforcement: Beyond the physical benefits of cannabis for anxiety disorders, there are legal benefits to having a valid medical cannabis recommendation.
Law enforcement in California will not be able to arrest or prosecute young adults carrying the legal limit of cannabis if they have a valid medical cannabis recommendation. This is especially important for those who were previously purchasing cannabis in the black market. Being caught with possession of cannabis by law enforcement without having a medical cannabis recommendation can still lead to steep fines and penalties.
How can cannabis harm productivity
Using cannabis to relax can help improve mental health, but when you start to use cannabis as a way to avoid handling your responsibilities, you are utilizing cannabis in a harmful way.
At a younger age, a person has a higher risk of developing a problematic use of cannabis. Instead of focusing on school work and a healthy social life, they might find themselves evading their responsibilities by choosing to instead smoke or consume cannabis.
In addition, researchers in the UK found that long-term cannabis users tend to produce less dopamine. Study participants who started consuming cannabis at a younger age were found to have lower levels of dopamine in the striatum. The lack of dopamine in this area of the brain could be why cannabis users can experience a lack of motivation and decrease their reward-driven behavior. [6]
However, there is no aspect of cannabis that specifically causes people to lose drive and ambition. In recent laboratory studies, subjects were given high doses of marijuana for several weeks and they did not exhibit any decrease in work motivation or productivity.
How to talk to parents on the issue of cannabis
While reading this article, some of you might be considering cannabis as a treatment option, but are unsure of how to bring the topic to your parents or guardians. Many people today are still wary of cannabis usage, especially because it is still listed as a Schedule-I drug at the federal level.
When bringing the topic of cannabis to your parent, you should be open-minded. By having an open conversation, you and your parents will be able to respect each other’s opinions and come to a mutual decision about whether or not cannabis is right for you.
The next steps for patients looking to obtain medical cannabis…
Determine if medical cannabis may be a treatment option for you.
Go through a reliable service provider to obtain a medical cannabis recommendation from trusted physicians. Understand that having a medical cannabis recommendation will not put you on a government list and that your patient information remains confidential.
Once you get your recommendation, determine what strains and methods of consumption (i.e. smoking, vaping, edibles, etc.) will work best for you. Seek local dispensaries near you that may carry medical cannabis products you are interested in trying.
Try medical cannabis to help alleviate symptoms of mental health, but as always, it is advised to use discretion and consume cannabis responsibly.
Transcript of Podcast
David Hua: Hey this is David Hua. I’m with Meadow and welcome to the Meadow podcast. Today joining me is Dr. Dan. Welcome back Dr. Dan.
Dr. Dan: Thank you.
David Hua: For those that don’t know Dr. Dan, we’ve been working on Meadow MD for the last few years, he’s seen over 10,000 plus patients across a spectrum of conditions and lifestyles. Today, we’re going to be talking about young adults and cannabis. People that are 18+. I want to kick it off with a question to Dr. Dan which is what medication and conditions have you seen in the past, or currently, for this demographic?
Dr. Dan: Adolescence is a difficult time for all of us as we go through it. Some patients are able to navigate through that time more easily than others. There are a lot of different conditions that can make that very difficult. One is ADD or ADHD. These conditions are very common. I think it’s important in our discussion here because the medications used to treat those patients are called sympathomimetics, which means they’re basically uppers. They are directly related to methamphetamine. While we definitely need to be cautious with our use of cannabis, I think we also have to consider the toxicity of the other medications that they’re taking. I would say anxiety and depression are two other leading (things) that teenagers and young adults are facing. Currently, there are a number of different medications available. The most popular one for anxiety would be Xanax or Alprazolam.
David Hua: Alprazolam? That’s an over the counter, you have to get prescribed, right?
Dr. Dan: You have to get it prescribed. It’s a controlled substance. And it’s highly addictive. I would say it’s probably four times more addictive than most of the cannabis formulations we use.
David Hua: Wow.
Dr. Dan: You can definitely become dependent on it. You can get withdrawal. It’s psychoactive, so you can’t drive while you take it. It may impair your ability to preform in school.
David Hua: And does tolerance also go up?
Dr. Dan: Yes, both with Adderall it can go up, and definitely with benzodiazepines like lorazepam or alprazolam, which is Xanax.
David Hua: Got it. ADD, ADHD, anxiety, depression, those are some of the main conditions that you’re seeing. Anything else?
Dr. Dan: Sleep, like everybody. I have a lot of patients that are adults telling me that, “Yeah, I’ve had problems with sleep since I’ve been a kid.”
David Hua: Maybe they should stop looking at their screens. Something to do with it maybe.
Dr. Dan: Standard sleep hygiene.
David Hua: They’re saying that this generation is called iGen, which has grown up since the very beginning with technology right there. We’ve seen studies where screentime doesn’t necessarily correlate with sleep or happiness.
Dr. Dan: Right. Definitely.
David Hua: Got it. Many college students are pretty overwhelmed with everything that they have to do. With anxiety, let’s talk about CBD, and its effectiveness in treating that.
Dr. Dan: Yeah, I think CBD is a tremendous cannabinoid and a high ratio of CBD to THC can be very helpful. CBD to THC ratio of somewhere between 18 to one and 25 to one is what I recommend. At a 20 to one ratio, for example, each dose has 9 and a half milligrams of CBD, just half a milligram of THC, which does help the CBD work better, but is present in just a tiny sub-psychoactive amount, in just half a milligram. You’d need five times that amount just to reach the threshold of psychoactivity, which is about two and a half milligrams of THC. This is truly a non-psychoactive medication that patients, including young adults, can take during the day, they can take while at work or at school. It won’t make them feel high or stoned, their thinking will be clear, they’ll be able to multitask and do essentially whatever they need to do unimpaired. That same 20 to one ratio is effective for anxiety, for depression, it has mood-stabilizing effects so you don’t swing down into depression too much. It has some mild mood elevating effects. It has tremendous ability to relax the brain. I think of it massaging the brain, and the brain going “Oooh, ahhhh, I feel relaxed and calm and happy.”
David Hua: Got it.
Dr. Dan: Yet it’s not going to impair you. When I use this 20 to one ratio of CBD to THC, I use a tincture under my tongue and if I hold it under my tongue about 90 seconds, then the onset of action is about five minutes. Super fast. Very discrete. Nobody knows what you’re putting under your tongue. It doesn’t give you cannabis breath. In addition to feeling more relaxed and better able to handle the stresses, I feel a definite improvement in my ability to focus, and I find that that to be very helpful. This is the formulation that works well for folks with ADD, ADHD, or need special help with focus.
David Hua: Instead of Oxycontin?
Dr. Dan: Instead of Adderall.
David Hua: Adderall, sorry, yeah. My bad.
Dr. Dan: I have a patient who has ADD and he told me a story that he was in a party and someone passed him a joint and said, “Hey, try this. This is a strain called AC/DC.” which meant nothing to him but actually has about a 20 to one ratio of CBD to THC so it would just be perfect for him. He had no idea what was going on. He said he took one hit from the joint and he said it was like the whole world stopped spinning. He was able to deal with the individual balls in the air, and to me that was real objective evidence, because he had no idea what to expect, and to have that dramatic a response, and then to feel the response myself, and I don’t carry a diagnosis of ADD or ADHD, which I’ve wondered at times. It can be tremendously helpful in a way that is not impairing. It doesn’t have the kind of side effects that Adderall has for example. It is very hard on sleep. People don’t sleep well. Then, they’re ragged. It’s hard to preform your best when you don’t sleep well. They don’t have good appetites and they’re growing young adults. That’s important.
David Hua: And often moody.
Dr. Dan: And moody, that’s right.
David Hua: You tend to get way annoyed easier. Your fuse is a little bit shorter. Even though you’re focused, but it’s almost like your bedside manner isn’t that well. That’s pretty great. The CBD, focusing on that can really help with ADD, ADHD, anxiety, depression. Let’s talk about some long-term effects. These are developing, their brains are still developing, their bodies are still developing. What are some of the long-term effects on youth with using CBD or these formulations?
Dr. Dan: Yeah, I think that’s something that’s really important because, in my personal opinion, I think that young adults need to have some CBD in the mix of what they take as cannabis as medicine. It’s because there is evidence that suggests that there may be a — well, there’s definitely short-term memory loss, which is concerning. There is some evidence that IQ could be lower. I think that is a bit controversial. In opposition to that, there’s CBD which I call the friend of the brain. It’s an antioxidant, probably in the neighborhood of omega-3 fatty acids in terms of its antioxidant effects which are really important in maintaining cell health. It is a neural protectant. It protects the nerves that are already there. It helps regenerate neurons in the brain and peripheral nervous system, especially in traumatic brain injury patients or stroke patients. Now, young people aren’t going to have strokes, generally. They’re not going to have strokes. But, they can definitely have traumatic brain injury, particularly patients in contact sports or in vigorous sports. The issue with football players has come up, and professional football players in particular, it is now being shown in another recent study that it is a huge problem. A huge percentage of people have some element of brain dysfunction, whether that’s all the way to dementia or whether the person has personality change or something like that, it is attributable to these traumatic brain injuries. I think CBD is tremendous in that it is able to do these other things. It helps actually promote memory retention, as opposed to THC which, again, short-term memory loss. Those effects of THC have been shown to be erased.
David Hua: High THC can hinder productivity, in a sense, right? This group of young adults really needs to preform. They’re expected to do well in school. They’re expected to do well in sports. They’re expected to do a lot of things. What steps, besides taking CBD, can they take to stay productive, other than CBD, if they are getting THC?
Dr. Dan: I think it’s something where people need to take the medication and use the lowest effective dose possible.
David Hua: Microdosing.
Dr. Dan: I think microdosing is a great option. You can more precisely dose your medication. Tinctures can be a good one, ones that are…
David Hua: Low-dose.
Dr. Dan: Low-dose. Exactly. Because at higher doses, that’s when you get most of the sleepiness.
David Hua: Lethargicness, apathy.
Dr. Dan: I think that non-motivational syndrome is real. I think it’s probably, may be as high as 10%, certainly not everybody. But I think it’s definitely a risk.
David Hua: Where 10% of the people that consume cannabis become non-motivational?
Dr. Dan: I think that it’s the correct statistic.
David Hua: Okay. Non-motivational meaning, I just want to sit on the couch and not do anything, and just veg out.
Dr. Dan: Yeah, in my mother’s basement and I’m 35 years old. That’s one of the arguments that I hear from a lot of folks who are more skeptical of cannabis, because they’ve had people in their families or people who they’ve known, who cannabis was a pathway that led them to non-productivity and not moving their life forward. I think in those cases, cannabis isn’t the right, cannabis with THC is not the right solution.
David Hua: My personal experience, I smoked in high school, junior year. It actually didn’t demotivate me, it actually motivated me because I had another perspective of what life is. With that perspective, it allowed me to balance out my day-to-day. Was I smoking on the regular? No. It was more of a social type of thing. As we know more and more about the medical benefits, I wish I had some CBD. I think it would’ve been really helpful. Okay, let’s move into getting access. Legalization in California is coming. Anyone that’s 21 and over will be able to buy cannabis legally. Anyone that’s 18 that wants to obtain cannabis legally will have to get a medical evaluation. We’ve had people ask us, “How should I bring this up to my parents?” or “How should I get access?” Let’s give some general advice to this group who is looking and seeking an alternative to what they’re already taking.
Dr. Dan: Great question, and one that’s difficult. It’s always difficult to talk to your parents, especially about something that’s as controversial as cannabis, where the parents…
David Hua: Grown up with the War on Drugs.
Dr. Dan: Brain on drugs and it’s illegal at a federal level.
David Hua: I think as a parent you want to make sure that your kids are safe. They’re probably thinking safe from a substance, but more so on the illegality of it, so they don’t get in trouble for possessing it with authorities. That’s how I would say one frame of mind they’re probably looking at.
Dr. Dan: Absolutely. That is definitely disproportionately minority cannabis users that are arrested. It’s crazy. In New York, they were telling kids to empty their pockets, and when they had cannabis, they’re like, “Oh, you got it in public. You’re arrested.” That just determines the rest of their life. They are in the criminal justice system. It limits their possibilities.
David Hua: College scholarships, even college entrance, jobs prospects, all of that. It’s terrible. Here’s the thing. I think if you’re in a legal state like California that has the ability for an 18-year-old to get a card, you’re actually protecting them in a way. They aren’t going into the street to buy it illegally. They’re actually getting a consultation with a licensed physician that knows how to address the conditions that they’re looking to get relief from, with cannabis. If they have possession, a copious amount with them, or anything, that card protects them from the authorities. So without it, you’re more likely to get in trouble. Now, I haven’t been an 18-year-old in a bit, but if I’m trying to bring it up to my parents, maybe it’s about talking, just sharing your feelings. You have an amazing relationship with your daughter. For people that are trying to bring it up, what do you think?
Dr. Dan: For me, my daughter and I had just met on multiple levels in this discussion.
David Hua: But it was a discussion.
Dr. Dan: Yeah, it was a discussion and a frank one. And I always wanted her to be able to ask questions on anything, but especially something like cannabis. I think that’s how I feel, it’s hard to argue with that. I think that’s a great tack to take. I think doing your homework is important, looking into medical cannabis. For example, the patient education section of the Meadow website has a great primer on medical cannabis that is very well written.
David Hua: Maybe make a PowerPoint. Show them, “Here’s my school project.”
Dr. Dan: Yeah, this is what I’m proposing to you, Mom and Dad. Going in there with significant knowledge and knowledge of the process too, what it means that you’re going to go through this consultation with a licensed physician, and that may take place online, which does most of our Meadow MD patients. It could be in person. It could be at a doctor’s office, or it could be in their home. We do those on occasion.
David Hua: And you could bring the parents with you.
Dr. Dan: And you can bring the parents with you. I always, whenever I’ve had a teenager, I always would do the evaluations with the parents. I would spend a little bit of time separately with the student. But I think including the parents in the discussion, because they’re going to have a lot of questions, and there will be questions that the young adult won’t be able to answer.
David Hua: Yeah, okay. That should do it on young adults. I am sure we could get into plenty more questions. If you feel like you have any questions, you can email us or look up online. Thank you for spending the time, Dr. Dan.
Dr. Dan: Absolutely.
David Hua: Take care.
Dr. Dan: Thanks.
