I agree with some of this in the abstract, but I think it's worth noting that "regular use" in academic studies of marijuana usually entails dosing lab animals with quantities that a human being couldn't physically consume, or surveying the (much smaller) population of people with psychological addictions to marijuana.
OTOH, and this is anecdotal, I worry about how potent a lot of "normal" marijuana has become and how rapidly we've normalized high-dose delivery mechanisms for it (like waxes and tinctures). It's hard to predict the future given how "primitive" marijuana consumption used to be, in contrast.
I agree 100% with the potency concerns. Many of the studies showing negative impact were using standards like "10 joints a day" which was easy to dismiss as that was an unreasonable amount of weed for most people. Now with wax, tinctures and 20%+ THC strains becoming the normal it seems really easy for many people to be hitting those previously unrealistic dosages.
I'm curious, because I have not heard of wax or tinctures, do you think those are things that more people will use, vs people who would have used some hard drugs anyway?
What I mean is, there will always be some hard drug users, now from the discussion I understand some "hard" THC products exist, will this result in any kind of demographic change like the OP worried about, or is it just a new drug of abuse?
Just because these things exist, I don't think it automatically follows that they will get used by most people, or even more people than would have found some other destructive thing to do in their absence
This is all anecdotal but I have multiple friends who smoke regularly for years. I would consider them heavy smokers, think 5+ joints a day. Once their states had recreational or easily obtainable medicinal marijuana and the retail shops that come with it they quickly started moving into the concentrates and waxes. Now they regularly are going through grams of concentrates and going back to their previously "heavy-use" of 5 joints a day would barely scratch their itch.
The availability of vape pens also makes it REALLY easy to end up smoking way more than you would otherwise and as an easy way to start smoking in general. I smoke and enjoy the convenience of pens but they are perfect tools for increasing cannabis consumption in a population.
It is almost as if flower based cannabis is a gateway drug to these concentrated forms and I think it is really easy to go down that path as an already regular user. It's more economical, potentially better for you (less smoking) and now very easy to obtain.
I think the "overton window" of cannabis use is being shifted to the heavier end. Casual users will probably stay about the same but regular and heavier users will all shift to more or higher potency consumption.
Just anecdota of course, but waxes and tinctures are routinely promoted and offered in discount deals at virtually any legal weed dispensary in the USA. They are IMO increasingly mainstream, as they often work nicely with tools like vaporizers which more and more young people use to consume.
Technology has massively changed how people consume cannabis - many people today may have never rolled or smoked a traditional joint ever. You can buy it in ready to load resin cartridges powered by a LiIon battery. Many of these things produce cold vapor that makes it staggeringly easy to smoke an enormous quantity. At least with a joint, there normally comes a point one's throat will probably not thank you for continuing... The cold vapor from many vaporizers is almost odor free too, meaning people can consume in places they couldn't previously.
They are very common - "vape cartridges" are the preferred intake mechanism for a lot of people because it's much more discrete (almost no smell, can pass for normal vaping) and convenient (small size). And those cartridges can be upwards of 90% THC.
They are pretty heavily in use and available at most locations that legally sell marijuana. Estimate they are 15 to 20% of sales, perhaps more. Even common flower now is 20% thc.
Dude, literally millions of people are dabbing wax and vaping 95% purity THC all day every day in just the US. Millions. Not just in legal states, and not just delta-9-THC. There's all 50 states legal hexahydrocannabinol carts from hemp, delta-8,10 THC and THC-O acetate widely available. Not sure though why an article about lead exposure turned into a Reefer Madness spook campaign. If one were looking for parallels I think one would lean towards something like widespread use of PFAAS chems or something. Smoking plants is up to an individual.
I started smoking pot later than a lot of my peers. All through high school I was cringy and weird and judgemental and adversarial and entitled.
Then I started smoking pot. And I experimented with a ton of hard psychedelic drugs. And it absolutely took a toll on my cognitive abilities. But it had a much more profound effect on my personality. A positive effect. Especially LSD.
It was like a light switch went on in my personality. I suddenly was much more "tuned in" to the world around me. I became mindful and considerate. My judgement faded. My outlook had changed to one that was seriously more healthy. Today I don't drink or do hard drugs. Just Marijuana. And I'm happy with myself.
I don't know what to make of that but I do know that I've seen things and felt things and understood things from perspectives that people who have never taken drugs can literally not imagine. You couldn't even dream the things I've seen.
I believe there could be clinical uses for taboo things like psychedelic drugs. I hate to think that without them I probably would have eventually been red pilled or turned into a fascist. It was that much of an eye opening experience for teenage me.
So while it probably did cost me about 15% of my cognitive ability, it also gave me 100% of my critical thinking ability.
A lot of that could just as easily be attributed to you growing up, though. Teenagers are generally cringy, weird, judgmental, adversarial and entitled, each in their own ways.
I personally had horrible experiences on LSD, and I've seen even worse bad trips and panic attacks as a trip dad, but I know it helps quite a few of my friends figure themselves out. Which is why studies on these drugs is crucial.
OTOH, and this is anecdotal, I worry about how potent a lot of "normal" marijuana has become and how rapidly we've normalized high-dose delivery mechanisms for it (like waxes and tinctures). It's hard to predict the future given how "primitive" marijuana consumption used to be, in contrast.