California voters passed Proposition 64, The Adult Use of Marijuana Act, on November 4, 2016, legalizing the adult use and possession of marijuana. Retail sales of marijuana products began in 2018. The San Diego County Marijuana Prevention Initiative (MPI) published an initial report in early 2016 and a subsequent report in 2020. Previous reports included local marijuana-related trends to assess baseline data and identify important public health issues. This new report presents trends and public health data related to youth marijuana use and documents changes observed following legalization.

To view report click here.

However, newly published data shows Ontario is still seeing nine times more ER visits for cannabis poisonings in young children. A third of those cases required further hospitalization, and in 4% of those cases, children were admitted to the ICU.

"The industry has evolved to have much stronger, more potent products and these edible products are no exception," said Dr. Sam Wang, a pediatric ER physician at Children's Hospital Colorado. "Kids can get into a lot of THC in these products, and so they can have more profound symptoms, including sedation, coma. We've seen kids with low oxygen because their breathing is low."

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The CDC announced that our predicted 12-month overdose rate has exceeded 100,000 people. That’s like an airplane a day falling out of the sky. More people 18 to 45 year old died of fentanyl then died of COVID. And while fentanyl is the driver of deaths, I have not met a single patient that used fentanyl that did not start out priming their brain at a young age with marijuana. Not one.

Listen to our esteemed experts as they share High Truths Highlights of 2021 and Hopes for 2022.

Dr. Bertha Madras is a professor of psychobiology at Harvard Medical School and former Deputy Director for Demand Reduction at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, ONDCP. She has numerous scientific publications, courses, patents, and awards. I followed Dr. Madras’s service at ONDCP and she has been an invaluable mentor.

Dr. Ken Finn practices pain medicine in Colorado, he is the editor of the first medical textbook on Cannabis in Medicine, is President of the American Board of Pain Medicine, and is my colleague as Vice President of IASIC, the International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis.

Joe Eberstein is a certified prevention specialist and member of SAMHSA region 9 Prevention Technology Transfer Center. He is the program manager for the San Diego Marijuana Prevention Initiative and is my colleague at CCR, Center for Community Research.

The cultivation, legalization, and patterns of individual use of cannabis* in the United States is continually evolving. Additional states continue to enact medical and non-medical adult cannabis use legislation. Further, the potency of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in cannabis continues to increase and new strains of cannabis with varying levels of THC and cannabidiol (CBD) are being introduced into the marketplace. The number of persons who use cannabis is also increasing, including those reporting frequent cannabis use in the United States. Recognizing the need to understand changes in cannabis use patterns, the potential health and social consequences of cannabis use, and public health strategies to monitor and respond have led to the development of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Cannabis Strategic Plan. 

For link to CDC strategy click here.

This training will include information regarding current marijuana and vaping trends, opioid and fentanyl trends, and the latest data from the ABCD study. Free resources for educators will also be shared during this training.

Presenters: Joe Eberstein, Marijuana Prevention Initiative Patrick Foley, McAlister Institute Rocky Herron, San Diego County Office of Education Dr. Natasha Wade, University of California San Diego, ABCD Study

Thursday, December 9, 2021 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Zoom link will be sent closer to training This training will include information regarding current marijuana and vaping trends, opioid and fentanyl trends, and the latest data from the ABCD study. Free resources for educators will also be shared during this training

Who should attend? School Resource Officers, Campus Supervisors, Nurses, Social Workers, and other District/Site staff needing current information on ATOD use and abuse.