Use Cannabis In WA State, Expect To Spend More Time In Hospital

There's an idiom that goes like this.... It's not your father's (fill in the blank) So what's in the blank? You could insert anything that is significantly different from what it used to be.

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One definition is - "Recently changed, made unconventional through modernization"

For example - It's not your father's Oldsmobile.

It's not your father's Democrat party.

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More Powerful Pot

It's not your father's marijuana. According to Leaf-dot-com, today's marijuana is much more potent than in the 70s:

The levels of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) have increased a great deal since the 1970s. According to an article from 2017, published in Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, the THC concentration in cannabis 50 years ago was less than 3%. On the other hand, the current THC levels of some weed strains are even more than 30%.

That results in a new study finds it to be "associated with a higher risk of emergency room care and being hospitalized for any reason. "

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Medical Problems And Pot

The man conducting the study is Nicholas Vozoris, assistant professor and clinician investigator at the department of medicine at the University of Toronto:

Cannabis use is not as benign and safe as some might think...Our study demonstrates that the use of this substance is associated with serious negative outcomes, specifically, Emergency Department) visits and hospitalizations.

The study shows that when compared with people who did not use marijuana, cannabis users were 22% more likely to visit an emergency department or be hospitalized.

Physical bodily injury was the leading cause of emergency department visits and hospitalizations among cannabis users, with respiratory reasons coming in a close second. The impacts are potentially more profound among teens and young adults with mood disorders -- such as depression and bipolar disorder. In those populations, heavy cannabis use has been linked to an increased risk of self-harm, suicide attempts, and death.

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Dopey Equity Idea

But hey, it's all good. As of the month of June, Washington State will no longer refer to Marijuana as Marijuana because of racism in the early days of the 20th century. Whew, that fixes EVERYTHING!!

From now on, official references to marijuana will be called "cannabis" because that sounds so much more "science-y" and in retrospect won't reflect poorly on the people (Brown & Black people) who were positioned as the purveyors of pot in the "reefer madness" generation!

Will that help keep even one user out of the hospital...or will it do just the opposite?

WHat do you think?