“Not your Grandfather’s Marijuana”

Smoking and eating marijuana are most assuredly not a new thing. I came up as a

teenager in the 70s and a young adult in the 80s, and marijuana was widely available

and most certainly partaken in. The pot-smoking world was much less “Reefer

Madness,” and more “All right, all right, all right.” Harmless? Gateway? Addictive?

What changed, what happened, and what is going on with today’s pot?

“The marijuana and cannabis products that your grandparents may have used are very

different from what’s out there now,” says Deepak Cyril D’Souza, MD, Professor of

Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. (Backman 2023). The marijuana that is being

consumed today has THC levels (tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound that makes

users high) as high as 90%, as compared to the 1970s when THC levels were 2% to

3%. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Samples of marijuana

confiscated by the DEA in 1995 had a THC level of 3.96%. By 2002, THC levels had

increased to 7.2%, and by 2022 to 16.14%. (NIDA, Cannabis Potency Data)

So, is marijuana addictive? According to the University of Notre Dame, McDonald

Center for Student Well-Being, “For years it was believed that cannabis could not be

addictive, and many people today still hold that belief to be true. Current research

supports that cannabis is both physically addictive and psychologically addictive.”

(University of Notre Dame 2025). The University goes on to point out that “Cannabis

meets the criteria established by the American Psychiatric Association and the

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for substance dependence. A

person needs three of the following criteria occurring at any time in the same 12-month

period to meet the diagnosis of dependency.”

1) Tolerance: needing to use more to achieve the same effects.

2) Withdrawal symptoms: with marijuana, these could be irritability, restlessness,

loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, weight loss, shaking hands, and loss of

motivation. There are also reports of aggression, verbal or physical.

3) Continuing to use while experiencing adverse effects.

4) Losing interest in social activities, work, or recreation.

5) Isolating. Withdrawing from activities with family and friends or losing interest in

hobbies to maintain use. Developing a new group of friends or peers who also

use to create a normalizing environment.

6) Using larger amounts over a longer period than intended.

7) Inability to stop, cut down, or control substance use.

In our work here at The Refuge, we are receiving calls often from men who have

reached a point in their use of marijuana where the consequences of their use are

impacting their daily lives. They are losing jobs, their relationships are being affected,

and their use has moved from recreational to habitual. As of this writing, we have two

men enrolled in our program whose addiction is marijuana primary. We could find

substantial support and make a solid case for the belief that any substance a person

uses daily, and which creates an inability to hold down a job, maintain their closest

relationships, and impacts the ability to think, speak, and function normally, is addictive.

At least we could agree that if a person is experiencing these consequences and

continuing to use a substance, they have developed a dependency.

The effects of marijuana on mental health have professionals in the mental health field

deeply concerned. “The widespread use of cannabis (marijuana) and its increased

potency are associated with a rise in cannabis-related psychiatric conditions, according

to a new University of Maryland School of Medicine review article that was recently

published in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Porter 2023). Dr. Mark Gladwin,

MD, University of Maryland, states, “Approximately one in ten people who use cannabis

will become addicted, and for those who start before age 18, the rate rises to one in

six.” The thought that marijuana use is simply harmless is just not true. With the rise in

potency levels and consistent and higher-level use, today’s marijuana is creating a

mental health crisis of its own making. “There are currently seven recognized disorders

related to cannabis use. Some include: cannabis-induced anxiety disorder, cannabis-induced

psychotic disorder, cannabis-induced sleep disorder, and cannabis-induced delirium, which

manifests as hyperactivity, agitation, and disorientation with hallucinations. Often, their

symptoms can closely resemble those of their non-cannabis-related counterpart disorders.”

(Porter 2023).

The landscape that has been created by both the legalization of marijuana and the

much higher potency product that is in the market today is complicated, to say the least.

We cannot have a laissez-faire attitude, assuming it is just “pot.” There is too much

research contradicting the attitudes that marijuana is not addictive, people do not

become dependent, and that what is being consumed today, as edibles, smoked or

vaped, is harmless. Considering that the first substance most young people experience

is alcohol and the second is marijuana, this much higher-potency product is being used

at younger ages, where the effects on mental health are much more pronounced. We

need to pay attention to the research and be vigilant. The enemy that does the most

damage is the one we invite in.

Bibliography

Backman I. Marijuana: Rising THC Concentrations in Cannabis Can Pose Health Risks.

August 30, 2023. https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/not-your-grandmothers-

marijuana-rising-thc-concentrations-in-cannabis-can-pose-devastating-health-risks/

National Institute on Drug Abuse. Cannabis Potency Data. July 16, 2024.

https://nida.nih.gov/research/research-data-measures-resources/cannabis-potency-data

Porter H.M. University of Maryland School of Medicine. UM School of Medicine Review

Highlights Rise in Psychiatric Disorders Linked to Increased Cannabis Use. December

19, 2023. https://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/news/2023/um-school-of-medicine-

review-highlights-rise-in-psychiatric-disorders-linked-to-increased-cannabis-use.html

University of Notre Dame, McDonald Center for Student Well-Being. Myths and Current

Research. 2025. https://mcwell.nd.edu/your-well-being/physical-well-

being/drugs/marijuana-or-cannabis-sativa/quitting-marijuana-a-30-day-self-help-

guide/myths-and-current-research/