The Council for Drug Free Youth (CDFY) separated fact from fiction Wednesday night during a forum to educate the public on marijuana.
Jefferson City residents, whether curious about the drug or those who had been affected by it, filled seats inside the Missouri River Regional Library, garnering information from the event titled, "Weed Out the Myths: Today's Marijuana." With the vast amount of information available today, CDFY Executive Director Joy Sweeney said the goal for the evening was to send a "comprehensive message" about the dangers of marijuana use.
Laura Morris, CDFY project coordinator, said the public is "in the dark" when it comes to the truth about marijuana.
"Society and societal norms are saying that marijuana is a plant - it's medicinal, it's natural," she said. "We know differently. Behind the scenes in our job, our industry, we are seeing devastating effects on youth."
In Mid-Missouri, four of five high school seniors report it's easy for them to access marijuana, and some teenagers said they started smoking the drug as young as 13 years old, according to CDFY. Of area youth, 51 percent are drinking or using marijuana. For those who aren't aware of these figures, Morris said, the problem can go unrecognized.
"If you don't see it in your own community, you believe it doesn't exist," she said.
Recovering teenagers and adults, as well as parents and loved ones of drug abusers, shared stories in a video played during the program. It illustrated how drug problems can start in homes, where parents who abused drugs and alcohol set the examples for their children. That was the case for Heather Gieck, who is now the operator of the Jefferson City-based Healing House and New Beginnings, a faith-based substance abuse recovery program for women.
At age 5, Gieck said she took her first drink of alcohol. Drinking and drugs took control of her life, and she later was incarcerated.
"You are no longer your own person, you are a slave to whatever you're addicted to," Gieck said.
Promoting scientific evidence, Ed Moses, former drug recognition expert with the Missouri Highway Patrol, said research has shown marijuana use has long-term effects on the brain's frontal lobe, which affects personality, values and problem solving. Marijuana users who get high once a week regularly, he said, lose 50 percent of their ability to store memory.
The amount of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has dramatically increased since the 1970s, Moses said. Then, THC levels were at one to three percent, and now they've risen to 60-90 percent on average.
"New marijuana is doing something powerful to the brain," said Moses, who is a CDFY board member.
Alec Rand, 18, who grew up in Jefferson City, said he was a straight-A student before smoking marijuana. He read frequently, and his parents viewed him as trustworthy. After becoming a marijuana user, he took a 180-degree turn - being expelled from school and lying to his parents about everything, he said.
Growing up, Rand thought smoking marijuana was normal. He had family members who smoked. What he read online was pro-marijuana, sending a message it would make his life better. Rand found that wasn't the case, and he gained personal experience about one of the most common questions surrounding marijuana use - is it addictive?
"I was hooked on marijuana," Rand said. "It's addictive - not physically - but mentally."
Link:
Council for Drug Free Youth at jccdfy.org