Slowly but surely, America’s long-standing prohibition of marijuana is going up in smoke. On Nov. 4, two more states – Oregon and Alaska – officially legalized the sale of pot for recreational use. Meanwhile, voters in Washington, D.C., voted to lift a sizeable portion of the criminal sanctions against the sale and distribution of marijuana, subject …
Marijuana Now Legal in Two More States, District of Columbia Read More »
Decriminalizing pot is an action that many municipal governments have taken, but the term is confusing. Despite how it sounds, decriminalization is not the same as legalization. Attitudes toward marijuana are constantly shifting, as well as the laws that parallel them, and it becomes more and more important to understand what it all means. Decriminalization …
Collectively, young adults are significantly more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol than people in younger or older age groups. One of the key factors in determining the likelihood of substance intake is the amount of self-perceived risk that an individual attaches to drug or alcohol consumption. As part of a yearly survey project called …
Fewer People Believe Marijuana Is Risky, Survey Finds Read More »
Synthetic marijuana is a chemical-plant material mixture that contains synthetic cannabinoids, manmade compounds designed to reach the brain through the same pathway as the main cannabis/marijuana ingredient THC. One of the potential consequences of using synthetic cannabinoids is the onset of psychosis symptoms highly similar to those found in people with the severe mental illness …
Why Synthetic Marijuana Harms Brain More Than Pot Read More »
On July 9, 2014, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) released its strategy for the upcoming year. Michael Botticelli, the current drug czar who assumed his position in March, released the official National Drug Control Strategy at an event in Roanoke, Va.
In July 2014, a new District of Columbia law came into effect that made possession of marijuana a civil offense rather than a criminal offense. The law was approved by the D.C. council in the spring, but it had to pass a 60-day congressional review period before becoming active.
With the legalization of marijuana in some states, companies are adopting new policies on marijuana in the workplace. Even the FBI was reportedly reconsidering its policy against hiring marijuana users. Why the proposed switch? The realization that many successful computer hackers are also marijuana smokers came to light. Excluding marijuana users could be costing the …
Marijuana in the Workplace: Policy Confusion Reigns Read More »
In the U.S., marijuana use is fairly common among teenagers and young adults in the typical college age range of 18 to 25. Unfortunately, intake of the drug is associated with a number of significant problems, including memory and concentration deficits, altered brain development and the onset of cannabis use disorder (cannabis abuse and/or cannabis …
Researchers Say Messages Set the Stage for Drug Use Twitter is one of the most popular social media applications in use in the U.S. and across much of the world. While most users of the application are private citizens, companies and organizations also use Twitter to promote their products and causes. In a study published …
Pro-Pot Tweets Reaching Hundreds of Thousands of Youths Read More »
Psychosis is an extremely dysfunctional mental state most commonly associated with the presence of schizophrenia and certain other severe mental illnesses. Addiction specialists and researchers know that marijuana can produce a temporary psychosis-like state in active users and also potentially increases the odds that a person with latent psychotic tendencies will experience psychotic episodes. In …
Extreme Psychotic Reaction to Spice Reveals Risks of Synthetic Marijuana Read More »