#Listen2YourSelfie
It is illegal for anyone to:
It is illegal for adults to provide marijuana to minors. It is also illegal for parents to provide marijuana to their children.
Adults age 21 or older can legally use marijuana and possess up to:
Medical marijuana has been allowed in Washington since 1998. Doctors can authorize it for a patient if they have a condition that may benefit from the use of marijuana.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not recognized or approved marijuana as medicine but has approved two medicines containing synthetic marijuana in pill form.
Even though medical marijuana may sound safer than recreational marijuana, the drug has similar risks and health consequences whether it is used for medical or recreational purposes.
Marijuana can be harmful to your health even though it’s a plant. It can be harmful no matter how it’s used, whether smoked, eaten, vaped, or dabbed. And mixing marijuana with alcohol and other drugs can make it even more dangerous.
Marijuana has more than 400 chemicals, including THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). THC is the main active chemical in marijuana. It’s what causes a person to feel “high.”
Marijuana is becoming more and more potent , meaning there is more THC in it. For frequent users, exposure to high doses of THC on a regular basis can increase the risk of addiction. For a new user, marijuana with high levels of THC can increase the chance of a bad or unpredictable reaction, like an overdose. The overdose effects of marijuana can include psychotic episodes (where you lose touch with reality and think something’s happening that really isn’t), hallucinations (seeing things that aren’t really there), extreme paranoia (fear of people or things around you that aren’t actually able to harm you), panic attacks, and impaired coordination.
There are four main types of marijuana:
All forms except topical marijuana are mind-altering (psychoactive).
Marijuana flower: Marijuana flower is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp (Cannabis sativa) plant. It goes by many different names, including: pot, herb, bud, weed, and grass. This form of marijuana is usually smoked, and, like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke irritates the throat and lungs.
Marijuana concentrates: Marijuana concentrates are made by extracting potent cannabinoids from the cannabis plant. They are usually consumed by vaporizing the product. Marijuana concentrates go by many different names, including: hash oil, tinctures, dabbing, dabs, shatter, CO2 oil, BHO, wax, budder, honey, and honey oil. Marijuana concentrate users ingest higher levels of the addictive ingredient in marijuana, THC, at faster rates. This can increase the chance of addiction. It can also lead to overdose.
Marijuana-infused edibles: Edibles are food products (like cookies, brownies, candy, and drinks) infused with marijuana. Eating marijuana can be very dangerous. This is because while the effects of smoking or vaping marijuana begin after only a few minutes, the effects of eating marijuana might not begin for 1-3 hours. Because the effects take longer to begin, a user may consume larger amounts of the drug while thinking the drug isn’t working. This can lead to overdose of marijuana.
Topical marijuana: Topicals are cannabis-infused lotions, balms, and oils that are absorbed through the skin and are often used medically for localized pain and inflammation. Marijuana topicals are non-psychoactive, which means they will not get a user high. Topicals that contain THC do not show positive on standard drug test, because the THC does not enter into the bloodstream. However, topicals with THC may show up on drug tests that are more in-depth than standard tests.
Using marijuana and alcohol at the same time can be unpredictable. The effects of one drug can be more powerful than the other, or the combination can cause reactions you didn’t expect.
Here’s what can happen:
If you or a friend need help, call the toll-free Teenlink at 1-866-TEEN-LINK. You can also call to find out about counseling for teens who want to stop using marijuana and other resources in your community. Don’t worry: it’s on the DL, so your parents won’t find out.
Under Washington law, if you’re 13 or older, it’s confidential when you get medical care, drug/alcohol abuse services, or mental health counseling. No one else will find out, not even your parents/guardians—unless you want to tell them. Your doctor can’t talk to anyone else about it unless you say it’s ok—in writing. The only exception is if you share with the doctor that you’re in immediate danger of hurting yourself, hurting someone else, or being hurt.
Visit the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for Teens website, where you can get more marijuana drug facts and information about other drugs, too.
