Nearly a year ago, marijuana became legal in the state of California. While the legalization of marijuana has been attributed to an economic boost within the state, it’s important to address the consequences caused by the easy access to this substance and the societal implications that are shaping how people view marijuana use today.

I used to be a chronic user of marijuana. I was surrounded by a culture that severely downplayed the consequences of marijuana use, or denied them all together.

Everything changed for me when I went into a marijuana induced state of psychosis. For nearly 24 hours, I had no control over my body. I felt the ground beneath me quake. I saw the world around me condense into a single molecule. I thought to myself: This is death.

The fact that marijuana has just recently been legalized, with products having the highest levels of THC (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana) concentration we’ve ever seen, is unprecedented. The late addiction/recovery expert and Sacramento native Jon Daily stated that the THC levels in marijuana today are over five times more potent than in the 1980s, and with access to the substance becoming more and more convenient, we could be on the brink of a serious disaster.

The most notable consequence of easy
access of high potency marijuana is the increase in mental health disorders. In fact, marijuana users are five times more likely to develop schizophrenia than non-users. Jon Daily builds on this statistic by claiming that one in every 20 marijuana users will develop schizophrenia if they don’t quit in time. As a past user, I came dangerously close to this reality after experiencing psychosis.

Many people use marijuana to self medicate for depression or anxiety. Sadly, they are actually increasing their susceptibility to the disorders. Countless scientific studies conducted by institutions such as Oxford have shown that while depression and anxiety might be decreased while the drug is still in effect, they actually become exponentially worse after the THC stops interacting with the brain.

The legalization of marijuana has not only worsened the mental health of people with pre-existing conditions, but has also created an environment where more and more people are at risk of developing depression or anxiety. Even without a pre-existing condition, suicidal thoughts and tendencies have shown to increase upwards of 700% for marijuana users, according to Jon Daily’s research. Even though no one’s ever died from marijuana use, it has clearly attributed to the deaths of many.

Marijuana is often referred to as a gateway drug. This way of thinking about the issue is partially what’s fueling it. Jon Daily strongly believed that there’s no such thing as an addiction to a certain substance, but instead an addiction to intoxication in general. Society’s conception of certain drugs being less dangerous than others has created an environment where marijuana is looked at less critically than other drugs. When an addict is no longer able to access their “drug of choice,” they don’t stop seeking intoxication, they move on to other forms of it. In a world that is becoming more and more accepting of drug use, fighting against the legalization of drugs such as marijuana is becoming an insufficient approach. However, we can still create a safer environment for current and future generations. Education is the most crucial tool we have for informing people of the consequences of marijuana. I believe that with the legalization of marijuana, we must reform our process of education in order give everyone an in-depth look at the cold hard facts about marijuana use. We can do this by instituting a mandatory course designed to teach students and the public about marijuana in great depth. Drug use will never disappear, but if we better educate our community on the consequences of marijuana use, we can create an environment that both enforces sobriety and the safe use of marijuana.