Youth Marijuana and Psychiatric Problems

South Africa is the latest in a long list of nations legalizing recreational marijuana use (Al Jazeera, June 10, 2024). Some wonder if South Africa’s decision will prompt other African nations to follow its lead. The socio-political peer pressure is high, and politicians are moving to make this once-illicit drug legal for the people of their nations, in spite of growing evidence that marijuana use is unsafe. Armed with recent data, Thailand, which legalized marijuana use just two years ago, is reversing that decision this year with legislation to again ban the recreational use of cannabis (The Diplomat, March 1, 2024).

Is marijuana really as safe as many government officials and the popular media say it is? A recently published University of Toronto study reports, “Teenagers who use cannabis have a dramatic increased risk for a psychotic disorder compared with their counterparts who don’t use the drug” (Medscape, May 31, 2024). In another recent study, researchers discovered that women who were heavy cannabis users had a significantly higher risk of death due to cardiovascular disease (MSN, June 11, 2024). These sorts of negative consequences have long been known, even as proponents of legalization have downplayed them. For example, almost ten years ago, a study found that high-potency cannabis users were three times more likely to develop psychosis (BBC, February 16, 2015). These represent a small sample of the many physical and mental health risks of marijuana use.

The pursuit of recreational drug use is, at its heart, a spiritual problem, as individuals turn to psychoactive substances like marijuana for support, help, encouragement, and escape, instead of turning to God. In terms of the Ten Commandments, such drug use involves putting another god before the true God (Exodus 20:3). Marijuana may be increasingly legal in more countries and jurisdictions, but the fact that something is legal does not make it right before God. To learn more about the under-reported dangers of marijuana use and your Creator’s purpose for your life, which no drug can replace, be sure to read or listen to Marijuana: What They Aren’t Telling You.