Colorado has launched a new website to answer common questions about the legalization of adult-use of retail marijuana and the health impacts related to marijuana use.
The website – www.colorado.gov/marijuana – includes answers to these types of questions:
- What are the long-term health impacts of marijuana use?
- Is marijuana more harmful to adolescents than adults?
- Is it legal to consume marijuana in public places?
- Can a person be charged for driving under the influence of marijuana?
- Is it safe to eat or drink marijuana-infused products?
- How do I talk to my child about marijuana?
Toking Tourism – The Guide for Colorado Visitors on Marijuana
“State agencies worked together to develop this website as a reliable resource for parents, consumers, tourists and others who want the facts about marijuana’s health effects and the laws in Colorado, ” said Dr. Larry Wolk, executive director and chief medical officer at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The website features current, research-based information and resources from the Colorado departments of Transportation, Education, Revenue, Human Services, and Public Health and Environment.
“We want people to know the laws and the long-term health impacts and to make responsible choices about marijuana use,” Dr. Wolk said. “We have requested $3.7 million this year from the General Assembly to keep the website up to date with the most current research and educational materials, and to promote this resource through a statewide outreach campaign.”
Topics on the website include underage use, long-term health impacts, secondhand marijuana smoke exposure, legal and safe use of marijuana, driving while impaired, overuse of marijuana and more.
Over the course of the year, the department will be launching education campaigns that will have a television, radio, and social media presence.
Although recreational marijuana was recently legalized in Colorado, concerns about its health effects remain. While marijuana use might help reduce the symptoms of certain medical conditions, it also may cause harmful effects depending on how often it is used. There is evidence that regular use of marijuana increases the risk of heart, lung, mental health problems,1
and possibly some types of cancer.9
Less is known about health issues that might be caused by casual or infrequent marijuana use.
What’s inside marijuana?
The active ingredient in marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),which is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects. Marijuana is a natural product that does not have to be tested in a lab. Typical marijuana plants contain more than 400 chemicals, including about 60 that can interact with the body’s nervous system.4
If you smoke marijuana, you might inhale more than 2,000 chemicals.5
Many of those chemicals are similar to the ones in cigarette smoke.10
Marijuana also can be contaminated with mold, insecticides or other chemicals. The health effects of many of these chemicals are still being studied.
Until new regulations come into effect later in 2014, Colorado retail marijuana is not required to be tested for contaminants. Some growers and sellers already have started to test their products for contamination. All marijuana products must have labels listing any chemicals that were used during growing or production, and whether the product has been tested for contaminants. Products that have not been tested for contaminants must be labeled as “not tested.”
Has the potency of marijuana changed over the years?
Yes, the average potency of marijuana has doubled since 1998. Today, users can get the same amount of THC from a single puff that people in the 1970s got from an entire joint.11
That’s because over the decades growers have been genetically modifying plants to increase THC content.