The expanding legalization of recreational marijuana has led to wider availability of cannabis edibles—so much so that the pot-laced, candy-like products have replaced vaping as the stealth way for teens to get high, especially at school. Although legalization supporters promised safeguards to protect vulnerable populations, such as young people, the cannabis industry is failing to monitor and stop underage use. In Colorado, for example, which, like most states, has an age limit for the sale of cannabis products—21 for recreational use, 18 with a medical marijuana card—it is fairly easy for high schools students to get them from older siblings and friends, according to doctors and school officials, who say they are finding edibles more often on school premises.
Edibles are popular because, unlike joints and even vape pens, with their puffs of smoke and distinctive smell, they are almost impossible to spot, and can look just like regular candy and cookies. They are also more likely to lead to overconsumption: one small cookie or gummy can contain multiple oses of THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana. And since edibles take an hour or more to kick in, impatient kids can easily ingest too much.
Also concerning is that kids view edibles as less dangerous than smoking or vaping because they are not inhaled, and they, therefore, underestimate the potential for harm. But they are dangerous, with one candy bar or cookie packing about 10 doses of THC, five times the standard unit of 5 milligrams. There is a growing body of evidence confirming the negative impact of THC on the developing brain, and its links to poor performance in school and deficits in attention and memory. But this apparently means little to the booming cannabis industry, which still markets marijuana as an essentially harmless product. It’s time for states, which are leading the legalization charge, to implement stronger measures to control underage use and to protect young people.