By STEPHEN BOGAN

Awareness about the risks of marijuana use by teens is at a critical point right now in our state and our own community on Vashon. The “new normal” in our society includes the availability of both medical cannabis and legal recreational marijuana and all the confusion in between.

Without taking sides on legalization, it is the message of “normalcy” about this drug that concerns those who work with youth. Youth watch what we as adults do and say, and it is important to be clear about our messages about marijuana.

Access by youth to medicinal cannabis by legitimate or illegitimate means is exposing youth to an increasingly potent drug, either through smoking or through flavored edibles in the form of candy, cookies, popcorn and other appealing products. Eighteen-year-olds can obtain authorization to purchase medical marijuana. A recent Seattle Times article mentioned a new strain of medicinal pot called “beast mode” due to the almost 18-percent THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) content. You can’t go to the Vashon Pharmacy and get “beast mode” aspirin or pain relievers. We are naming medicine after football heroes and creating food products that contain high levels of THC.

Some area schools have reported to me that they have seen youth overdose on THC edibles because the kids have no idea how powerful and long lasting the drug is. A recent survey in Seattle found that a high percentage of marijuana being used by youth came from medical marijuana dispensaries. We are currently debating whether to allow a huge grow operation on the main highway pretty close to my office. Legal THC products will include candy and other edibles, which are attractive to children. We have been here before with cigarette and alcohol marketing products that are attractive to teens and children, and it took years of concern from parents and others to stop this form of marketing.

A recent Center for Substance Abuse Research Survey of 12th-graders reports that their perceived risk of regular marijuana use is at the lowest level since 1978. In 1978, the average THC potency was less than 3 percent, and now the average THC level is 15 percent, and often even higher with concentrated hash oils and other cannabis products. The survey found that only 40 percent of 12th-graders thought that regular marijuana use was a great risk.

High potency in marijuana and very low perception of risk are critical elements to a perfect storm of potential increased use, adolescent brain effects and dependency on the drug. New forms of THC being manufactured and sold as hash oil are even more concentrated, often 40 to 70 percent THC.

This new marijuana is a drug powerful enough to cause short- and long-term changes to the teen brain and increase the risk of dependency. The scientific evidence about negative effects of marijuana use by adolescents is increasing as the drug becomes more potent. Early regular use can cause neural changes that impair teens’ ability to focus, learn from mistakes and think abstractly. Early users did more poorly on tests of cognitive functions and made critical incorrect responses described as “cognitive inflexibility.” Early use of marijuana causes lasting change to people’s “working memory,” which is the source of recall for basic information used for solutions to everyday problems. Working memory is also a strong predictor of academic achievement. A 2012 New Zealand study of 13- to 38-year-olds found that those who started regular use as teens lost up to eight IQ points over their lifetime as adults. It should be noted that the average THC level when the study was started in 1991 was less than 5 percent. Damage could be increased by much more potent marijuana. Regular use has a stronger negative relationship to academic outcomes like reduced GPA and dropping out than alcohol.

Naturally occurring cannabinoid compounds in our brains allow us to feel awe and wonder about the world. That doesn’t mean that our brains are designed for an endless pot party. Marijuana overloads the cannabinoid receptors and down-regulates our natural ability to feel good on our own. This new THC is stronger than our own reward system can handle.

Having talks with your middle and high school children about marijuana is much more complicated than it used to be. If you think your kid is “experimenting” with the same kind of marijuana you used when you were in high school, you may feel you have little to warn them about, especially if you made it through your stoner period and came out OK. But many parents were not experimenting with marijuana at age 12 (the average age of first use now), and they weren’t using cannabis with a THC content of 15 to 20 percent or more. This is not your dad’s pot.

Have the conversation with your children now. Ask them to give you a tutorial on the “new normal” of cannabis. Then take your stand about the risks of this drug in spite of the confusion and controversy.

— Stephen Bogan is a counselor in private practice on Vashon and West Seattle. He specializes in addiction recovery, including marijuana.