Medical marijuana: Close up of buds on marijuana plants in a very large commercial grow house

More potent than old-school pot, today’s cannabis has led to poisoning in youth

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In his junior year of high school, an older boyfriend of Ethan Andrew’s sister introduced him to high-potency cannabis. The Colorado high schooler started regularly experimenting with that drug, legalized for adult Coloradans’ recreational use in 2012. He relied on it to sleep and get through his day. He didn’t expect its adverse effects on him.

Youth drog overdoses: Young man wearing sunglasses stands with older amn in parking lot next to blue mobile medical vehicle

Study: Drug use less common, more deadly among teens during pandemic 

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Published today in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association),  Trends in Drug Overdose Deaths Among US Adolescents, January 2010 to June 2021, noted an alarming increase in deaths driven by the widespread presence of illicit fentanyl in the drug supply, particularly in fake prescription opioid and benzodiazepine pills sold illegally. Researchers calculated the results by comparing overdose deaths per 100,000 for teenagers with US death records data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.