The topic of cannabis use and its effects on us and our renters comes up every month or two. I found this interesting (especially for the states that have legalized marijuana and those bordering those states) since suicide already is so prevalent among young people. Just one more cautionary tale:

Researchers have found that cannabis use during the teenage years was associated with a nearly 40% bump in the risk of depression and a 50% increase in the risk of suicidal thoughts in adulthood, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry. Although the increased risk was only moderate, "given the large number of adolescents who smoke cannabis, the risk in the population becomes very big,” said the study's lead author, Dr. Gabriella Gobbi.

I just finished reading "Tell Your Children: The Link Between Marijuana, Violence, and Mental Illness" by Berenson. The link between increased marijuana, psychosis and schizophrenia is real and growing.

I live near the Washington border. Before you even see the "Welcome to Washington" sign, billboards advertising marijuana pot shops line the highway. Radio ads tout the relaxation and supposed health benefits of marijuana. Big business is itching to get into the lucrative market. 30% of pot smokers are daily smokers. What the ads don't tell you is the growing crime rates and growing tent cities in once conservative Spokane.

It's definitely not something that's good for young teens to be using, but then neither are alcohol or tobacco.

RG, that sounds like a very interesting book. Please let us know if you would recommend people read it.

"The link between increased marijuana, psychosis and schizophrenia is real and growing." This alone ought to scare people out of getting into this stuff. This is not your Daddy's pot...

RB: Yes, I recommend the book. I also recommend googling "cannabis induced psychosis" for a little light reading. Read about how marijuana changes the number of cannabinoid receptors in the brain, and its effect on dopamine. Before I retired, we were starting to see more dementia in people in their 60s, whish I suspect is related to long term marijuana use. Every other person has an "anxiety" diagnosis. Marijuana is going to be a huge, expensive societal problem. What I did not know before reading the book is the long standing historical knowledge of marijuana's effects.

Momsstrong.org is a new organization of parents whose teen and adult children have been harmed by marijuana. They have many links to scientific studies on their site. This is a real problem, not a cute Cheech and Chong skit.

I'm not going to tackle the legality of it, but I did hear an interesting article recently on NRP by a neuro-scientist who has been studying "Why do certain drugs cause the actions they do?"

She compared three common drugs: alcohol, cocaine, and pot.

She the THC in pot causes an over-release of pleasure chemicals (dopamine, I think). This is why pleasurable experiences are that much "higher". Mmaybe that's where the term 'high' came from??? I dunno....that or John Denver...(*wink). Music is richer, art is more colorful, food tastes incredible, sex is more stimulating, etc.

But like anything, the brain gradually adapts to the effects and it takes more THC to get the same level of "high." Also, the brain starts becoming conditions NOT to release the dopamine unless there is THC, so whenever the user isn't high, then experiences that would be pleasurably without the THC are much "grayer", boring, and less pleasurable than it would have been before the THC decreased the brain's ability to release dopamine naturally.

That would make sense...depressed people are already having a hard time coping...and as they seek pleasure in the drug life gradually gets duller and less interesting until they find little pleasure in anything without the drug.

It's going to be an emerging legal and societal area. Like everything else that you do in excess, you create a tolerance. Drink too much over time, you become an alcoholic and with that comes side effects. Smoke too much pot, there are going to be side effects. I find it hard to believe that dementia increases are attributable to kids smoking pot in the 60s if that what is being purported. How about the fact that people are just living longer? If God created the plant, than I believe there must be a purpose. Smoke on!

Taz: You misread what I said. The early onset dementia is not caused by smoking pot in the 1960s. It is caused by prolonged pot smoking over decades, resulting in an early onset dementia in patients in their 60s. You can see the differences in functional MRIs.

This requires seal, prime and color coating just the same as candles or cigar smoke, OH has opened 5 sales outlets for the Mary Jane users - first quarter sales is recorded as about 80lbs - money intake just over 600,000.00 dollars, that is some fabulous money.

Recreational pot is now legal in my formerly medical-only state (CA). We have a CBD dispensary (used to be a full-spectrum delivery service) about 100 yards away from our property and have had absolutely no trouble at all. In fact, the extra security they provide is very much appreciated in our neighborhood. The owners are a darling young couple, one of whom is an officer in our Neighborhood Watch organization, working directly with our police department. Both tirelessly donate huge amounts of time and effort to important city causes. Soon we will have two more full-spectrum (THC & CBD) dispensaries in the heart of downtown, labeled 'medical only' because our town is so ridiculously conservative (yet there was still squawkage over that). These businesses will boost our flagging downtown, and I for one will be very happy to see them operate.

Let me say up front: minors should not be using alcohol, tobacco, nicotine vape products, pot or other drugs for recreational purposes (I'd include caffeine and sugar in this list too. Mountain Dew, anyone? Starbucks? Double-glazed donuts?)

Full disclosure: I am a medical cannabis patient who due to proper cannabis use has been able to eliminate four Rx medications, one of which caused high blood pressure (thus requiring addition of 2 BP meds) and internal bleeding to the point I needed an emergency transfusion. In fact, it was my 'pot doc' (who provided medical recommendation) that discovered the source of my symptoms: bleeding ulcers due to NSAIDS prescribed by my regular internist taken for severe chronic pain following an accident and subsequent surgeries. As with any medication, 'pot doc' helped me dial in the proper strains, dosages of CBD with just enough THC to be effective, and methods of ingestion to the point where my pain is now adequately controlled most of the time. I do not feel impaired and can perform (musician for a living), drive, exercise, and function normally for the first time in decades. Best of all, I legally grow my own medicine organically from seed and process my tinctures at home so I know exactly what goes into them. Cannabis has literally been a lifesaver for me, and several people I know who suffer from way worse conditions than me. A friend who has PTSD and extreme pain from injuries sustained as a soldier in the Viet Nam war is now able to use half his usual opioid dose with the addition of cannabis to his treatment plan. He says he feels like he's come back to life and his goal is to eliminate opioids altogether.

On topic, if I were actively landlording, I would prohibit any smoked or vaped form of cannabis, tobacco or any substance in my unit. I'd have no problem whatsoever with tinctures, capsules, edibles, or topicals. It is not my place to judge tenant's medical or recreational choices unless they cause problems, like damage or loss of income to pay rent. Honestly, the only people I've ever seen pot do a negative number on are those who combine it with alcohol and other serious drugs to self-medicate for deep-seated issues. I myself do not drink, but many of my renters did. A beer here and a brownie there was not a problem for them or for me as long as they remained functional and responsible.

statistically there is no science to link thc consumption to schizophrenia. Anecdotally there is evidence of boomers who are life long consumers getting schizophrenia. There is beginning to be

science behind CBD and managing schizophrenia. If it interests you this research is happening in Syracuse. Medical MJ definitely has a place in medicine. I like the way NY did it where it cannot be smoked like weed.

I disagree w/ anyone who thinks driving while high is safe, maybe safer than flat out drunk, but not safe. Related, distracted driving is similar to buzzed driving on limiting your reaction time, etc..

NY is headed towards recreational MJ. I hope to G O D that they do not approve edibles, and the CBD trend where it is in ice cream and many other products bothers me. Does not anyone think of the children?

^^^This comes up a lot in home rentals in our town. How it's dealth with is up to the landlord/property management. There is a limit to how many plants a property can have; maximum six with 1 allowed outdoors where it is at least 10 feet from property lines and out of direct view from the street.

The rental duplex across from us has one unit growing one plant outdoors. The owner/manager saw it on several occasions and was apparently ok about it since the tenants finished their grow.

As an owner/manager, we can still specify in our leases that cannabis not be grown on the property. We often see Craigslist ads for people seeking a rental where they can grow for personal use. Any reasonably priced housing is already extremely hard to find in this county so property managers have their pick of whomever is fully qualified AND the best fit. If they don't want a 12 ft tall cannabis tree (or 6) on their property, so sayeth the lease.

"I'm not a doctor or a scientist, but I found that explanation interesting. My thought is alcohol generally causes more deaths than just about any other drug"

I just came across this response to the Tell Your Children book this morning in the Guardian:

"A group of 75 scholars and medical professionals have criticised a controversial new book about the purported dangers of marijuana, calling it an example of “alarmism” designed to stir up public fear “based on a deeply inaccurate misreading of science”.

Tell Your Children, by Alex Berenson, was released last month. It has reignited debate about the drug in a social and political climate rapidly trending towards the legalization of recreational use.

Berenson argues that proponents of marijuana use have ignored evidence that the drug’s active compound, THC, may precipitate the onset of schizophrenia and provoke acts of violence in individuals who experience a psychotic “break”.

On Friday, 75 scholars and clinicians signed an open letter, joining a chorus of disagreement with Berenson by arguing that “establishing marijuana as a causal link to violence at the individual level is both theoretically and empirically problematic”.

The signatories include academics from New York University, Harvard Medical School and Columbia University and care providers including addiction medicine doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers.

It was mentioned several times in this thread that conservatives are so against cannabis. Hmmm ... well... I’ve always been fairly conservative, and I don’t have an issue with it. There is ONE thing though, as a landlord,

I want my tenants to maintain source of legal income. Usually that’s a job. IF an employee is injured on the job, or involved in an accident on the job, there will usually be drug/alcohol testing. Now, for alcohol testing, the are tests that have been validated by the COURT SYSTEM as capable of determining RECENT alcohol use. Supposedly, tests are being developed that can determine if cannabis was recently used, compared to last weekend. Until these tests are widely accepted, or, just accepted in the court system where a workplace accident/ injury will be litigated, tenants may be in a bind, if they are imbibing the substances where the time from ingestatiiin/ inhalation to the time of an accident cannot be determined.

I also do not want anyone on public roadways who is under the influence in a negative fashion. Problem is, we are ALL very very different. One drug that might have a limited negative influence on most of the population, such as caffeine, but, in other sensitive persons that same level of caffeine would make them jittery, erratic, prone to over-reaction.

We’re in uncharted waters here with thc, and , in my opinion, it will be worked out in time.

I don’t screen out based upon evidence of weed use. BUT , I have also never had someone with more than one THC possession charge pass my screening criteria. Is that correlation or causation? (3X income, not more than one eviction, etc,) I don’t know, nor particularly care. I stick to my screening criteria.

My grandparents farmed hemp before it was made illegal. Hemp ropes were a big deal in the world wars. My father always said hemp shouldn’t have been included in the ban back in the 30s, and that weed was probably no worse than alcohol. He was a staunch conservative, but only served in local government. So, maybe, conservatives aren’t as much the issue. Maybe it’s more like, the mindset of ‘we need a political issue to fight about’, ‘let’s spend more time fighting, blaming than getting things done. ‘

I think this is a short sighted money grab by the government. What is next? They start increasing the tax on Doritos?

On a serious note,

I have a non-smoking duplex. The one resident just recently got his medical marijuana card and is smoking in the place. I have let him know that yes he can legal use it in this home, however just don't smoke it. There are oils and pills you don't need to smoke in a non-smoking building. The long term resident next door has been with me about nine years and they have COPD. Joey stoner has been with me about 10 months.

Cannabis is illegal in our state, but there sure are a lot of folks using. Since it is still illegal - I have told our tenants that if they are going to smoke - don't do it around me and do NOT use inside. Go outside to smoke. And, if the wind is not blowing - then go somewhere else where it will not offend anyone. Most of our tenants have been real good and go outside after dark.

Just as with pot, I think you can have the same effects from caffeine, sugar, alcohol, etc.

IMO, At first, usage provides a high or jump in energy, and then after continued use, there is no effect. In fact, now, you're in a Negative state. In other words, the consumption only brings a status quo, and if Not consumed, the negative effects are experienced....

It can become a "Negative State of Being".

That level is different for different people.

I think though, that everyone needs to do what works for them.

We've had legal marijuana here in Colorado for a while now and crime rates have actually dropped while our population has gone up significantly. I have no idea about driving issues though.

As a landlord, however, I have the same income background criteria for everyone. They must be responsible citizens.