Cannabis concentrates present dangers for adolescents

+ the end of race-based scholarships? US Edition - Today's top story: Cannabis legalization has led to a boom in potent forms of the drug that present new hazards for adolescents [View in browser]( US Edition | 22 April 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Where next for unions’ Southern strategy after VW win?]( - [EU pact on migration heralds new ‘Fortress Europe’]( - [How the Anglican church is navigating LGBTQ issues]( Lead story When cannabis legalization began to sweep across the U.S. 10 years ago, few could have predicted the myriad forms that “weed” would take – and the unintended consequences that this wide availability of products could have on adolescents. Today’s cannabis products barely resemble the dried form of the cannabis plant that many adults associate with the drug. These new cannabis products often possess concentrations of [THC ranging from 40% to 80% or higher]( – compared with the average of 4% in the 1990s, explains Ty Schepis, a clinical psychologist at Texas State University who studies the effects of substance use on adolescents and young adults. Higher levels of THC present serious risks for mental health conditions including psychosis, schizophrenia and cannabis use disorder. “These dangers make early conversations with kids about cannabis and cannabis concentrates critically important,” Schepis writes. “While these conversations can be uncomfortable and you can look like the out-of-touch adult, they can be a major step toward preventing adolescents from using cannabis and other drugs.” This week The Conversation [dropped the first episode](​ of a new podcast that answers questions posed by kids – and of interest to adults, too. The Conversation’s Curious Kids podcast is published in partnership with FunKids, the U.K.’s children’s radio station. [Subscribe here](. [ [Understand what’s going on in Washington and around the world. Get our Politics Weekly newsletter.]( ] Amanda Mascarelli Senior Health and Medicine Editor Many of today’s cannabis products barely resemble the ‘weed’ that most middle-aged adults grew up with. VladK213/iStock via Getty Images [Cannabis legalization has led to a boom in potent forms of the drug that present new hazards for adolescents]( Ty Schepis, Texas State University THC concentrations in newly available products far exceed those of traditional smoked weed, which can have dangerous unintended consequences in adolescents. Politics + Society - [Expect lawyers to set the tone in Trump’s hush money trial with dramatic, possibly explosive, opening arguments]( Ronald S. 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