Up In Smoke Cannabis usage among teens drastically increases, could cause health implications

Lilianna Moran | Copy Editor Natalia Zavaleta | Co-Editor

In the past three years, marijuana abuse in teens has increased exponentially. Columbia University reports that more teens are smoking nowadays than drinking. With an increase in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) vape pens and other disposable marijuana vapes, it is more likely for teenagers to smoke carelessly, which in turn increases the likelihood of addiction and decreases lung and heart health in teenagers.

“The feeling to begin with, and encouraging that feeling is what makes it addicting,” health teacher Carol Peterson said. “So some people are self medicating.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), smoking marijuana can cause damage to lung tissues and small blood vessels. This can lead to an increased risk of bronchitis and excessive mucus production.

“We’ve seen some cases of popcorn lung,” Peterson said. “Some studies show that it might cause more severe and long-lasting symptoms of COVID.”

While popcorn lung is not cancer, it refers to a type of lung disease that causes shortness of breath due to its blockage of air pathways in the lungs.

Additionally, marijuana has been shown to affect all aspects of the concentrations in cannabis as another important factor in determining number it’s a hallucinogen, where they actually see things that aren’t there.”

The American Psychological Association (APA) adds to these findings, as they suggest the heavy employment of cannabis on developing brains carries more risks. The brain does not reach full development until an individual's mid-twenties, leaving the brain especially vulnerable to damage from drug exposure. The frontal cortex— the area vital for judgment, reasoning, and personality— is the last section in the brain to fully mature. This means it’s more susceptible to the effects of heavy drug use for a longer duration than other regions of the brain.

“With COVID and all the anxiety, marijuana tends to help relax,” Peterson said. “It relaxes you to the point where you don’t really feel energized to do anything.”

This topic still requires more research to definitively answer marijuana’s long-term effects on body function. However, excessive usage of any cognitively disrupting drug as an adolescent is likely to hold some lasting impact on the body’s ability to properly operate.