"Just Marijuana..."

Not all substances are equally destructive or dangerous.  People often say marijuana is not harmful or not addictive.  Both claims are not true.

Marijuana is a psychoactive substance, meaning it passes the blood-brain barrier and has an impact on the brain.  When I was a kid, we made fun of the idea of "reefer madness," which was this idea that pot would make you "nuts."  Back then, the "good stuff" pot-wise was 3 to 5% pure.

Today, marijuana is easily at least 80% pure and much more than that.  This means that it is way more potent and has potentially greater effect on the brain.  Marijuana used to cope with anxiety will likely make anxiety worse in the long run by numbing out the initial anxiety and compounding it with more anxiety when marijuana is removed.  A recipe for psychological dependence.

Vaping is a more potent way to take in a more potent substance.  The body gets used to its presence and this method of absorbing it.  I have worked with people who have fallen into marijuana withdrawal due to suddenly stopping vaping the substance.  

I am also seeing significantly more people presenting for help with cannabis-induced psychosis with diagnosis like schizo-effective disorder.

​Marijuana is not harmless.  Physically speaking, it is much less dangerous than other substances.  Psychiatrically speaking, it is not to be taken lightly.