An anti-marijuana advocate accused California lawmakers of valuing the cannabis industry’s profits over Americans’ health and the media of intentionally keeping the drug’s risks hidden from the public as recreational use grows across the country.
“Where are the messages that say this can increase your risk for depression, anxiety, psychosis, schizophrenia, increases the risk of suicide?” said Heidi Swan, a board member for Parents Opposed to Pot and a victim of marijuana-induced psychosis. “Where are those billboards? Where are those warning labels on the product? There are none.”
The health care data analytics firm Truveta recently reported that there is a “complex relationship between cannabis use and mental health disorders.” The Jan. 11 study found a nearly 50% increase in marijuana-induced psychosis emergency department visits between 2019 and 2020. A May study published in Psychological Medicine found that up to 30% of schizophrenia diagnoses in men ages 21 to 30 could have been prevented if the individuals had not been heavy marijuana users.
Swan said tragedies like the Spejcher case are just “a foreshadowing of what’s to come” if cannabis continues to be marketed to the public as safe.
“The celebrities, the athletes, the musicians who are all fronting marijuana companies, they post on social media themselves using and tell young people that it’s cool and that it’s safe. They should be held accountable somehow for their misrepresentation,” Swan told Fox News.
“How does a prevention advocate stand up against that kind of marketing, that kind of appeal to youth?” she added. “The least our government can do is to put out basic information to counter that.”
Teny Sahakian is an Associate Producer/Writer for Fox News. Follow Teny on Twitter at @tenysahakian.
