Mental health experts have warned that gummies, chocolates and cookies are just as harmful as smoked marijuana – if not more so.
Marijuana you can eat – so-called edibles – are often marketed as a less potent, “healthier” alternative to inhaling the drug.
Many popular products are presented in colorful packaging and are shaped like teddy bears or rubber snakes.
But speaking to DailyMail.com, top experts accused the companies making the sweets of “misleading” consumers into “thinking they are safe”.
While quitting smoking marijuana spares lung and heart damage, psychiatrists say consuming marijuana is more harmful to mental health.
Although weed gummies are less potent than smoking, they’re easier and faster to consume, and the psychoactive ingredient takes longer to get into the bloodstream — meaning you may need to consume more to get a greater effect.
According to numerous studies, the risks include serious mental illnesses such as sudden psychoses, schizophrenia and depression.
A large 2019 analysis found that regular cannabis use was associated with a fivefold increased risk of severe psychosis.
“Edibles are in some ways more dangerous than marijuana,” said Dr. Libby Stuyt, a board-certified addiction psychiatrist who works in Colorado, told DailyMail.com.
“With edibles, it takes a while for THC to develop.” [the psychoactive compontent in cannabis] entering the bloodstream, compared to the rapid peak reached during inhalation.
“The delayed response—perhaps two to four hours after eating—often leads people to eat a lot more because they think everything is fine.”
“Then they get a good dose of THC and the high lasts a lot longer.”
Plus, she says eating marijuana with fatty foods — including chocolate and cookies, popular snacks — can quadruple the potency of THC.
Cannabis edibles come in all kinds of forms: gummies, brownies, cakes and chocolates
“Fat helps the body digest the chemical so more of it is absorbed,” she explains.
Edibles are also more “misleading.” “They’re packaged and look more like normal stuff, so people underestimate their potential.”
“But there have been numerous cases of violent psychosis linked to edibles.”
Online retailers that sell marijuana gummies claim that consuming the drug-infused candies can actually alleviate certain mental health issues, including anxiety and depression.
However, in May, a study of 68,000 teenagers in the US found that those who used cannabis recreationally were two to four times more likely to develop suicidal depression than non-smokers.
Although the study does not prove a direct causal link (there may be another factor behind the psychiatric illness), the scientists say the strength of the association points to cause and effect.
They add that other research shows that recreational use of cannabis in adolescents can reduce volume in brain regions involved in motivation and emotions.
The mental health risks are believed to be due to the tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, in the marijuana plant, which affects chemicals in the brain and is responsible for the “high.”
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An assortment of luxurious “healing ices” is stored by a sealed glass display case with gilded accents. The packaging is stylishly minimalist – plain and white with a small black font – and flanking the cups are decorative, artificial fruit and images of wide open fields, as well as a small flyer reminding customers of the high-quality organic nature of the products . .
The substance stimulates areas of the brain involved in mood, attention and memory – and activates the release of the “pleasure hormone” dopamine.
In small, irregular doses, THC may cause little harm. But with larger hits and when used over a longer period of time, it can disrupt signal transmission in important brain areas.
A large study published in June 2023 that examined the results of 101 studies on the health effects of marijuana found that use of any frequency was associated with an increased risk of mental health problems and worsening psychotic symptoms.
The analysis, published in the British Medical Journal, included studies in which the drug was smoked and ingested.
A 2019 study of nearly 10,000 hospital visits by doctors in Colorado, where the drug has been legal since 2012, found that edible marijuana — in the form of gummy bears, brownies and chocolate — was linked to a higher number of psychiatric emergencies compared with inhaled marijuana was marijuana. Hemp.
Another 2016 study found that many of the recent reports of psychosis-induced psychosis occurred “after eating edibles.”
It has also been suggested that THC blood concentrations may be higher from food than from smoking.
“It is estimated to contain 1 mg of D9-THC.” [the most common form of THC] in a CE [cannabis edible] “may produce similar behavioral effects as 5.71 mg of inhaled marijuana,” says a recent article in US Pharmacist.
Experts have also expressed concern about the increase in potency of marijuana, which has become available in the US over the past two decades – in both edible and inhaled forms.
In 2018, experts in Colorado found that THC levels in marijuana flowers in the state increased by 212 percent between 1995 and 2015.
According to the report by doctors at the University of Colorado’s health sciences program, the most popular strains found in Colorado dispensaries in 2017 had THC levels of 17 to 28 percent.
By comparison, in the early 1990s, the average THC content in the state was about four percent.
The experts’ warnings come a week after rumors surfaced online that notorious marijuana smoker and rapper Snoop Dogg was planning to switch from smoking the drug to using it.
It is said that Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. is, has quit smoking weed, although the habit is a big part of his personal brand. Fans speculated that he might switch to edibles like gummy bears. In fact, his statement (below) was a PR stunt for the cooking brand Solo Stove
In what appeared to be a PR stunt for fire pit brand Solo Stove, the 52-year-old announced on his Instagram page that he was “quitting smoking.”
This sparked a flurry of rumors among fans, who speculated on Twitter whether the rapper was serious about his promise to release the hit song.
“This is finally a gummy bear ad campaign or something, right,” journalist and podcast host Matt Binder tweeted in response to Snoop’s announcement.
“This will probably just be a viral campaign where he launches his own line of vapes or edibles or something,” read another tweet, which has received 19,000 likes.
It wouldn’t be the first time the star linked his name to a marijuana treat.
In October 2022, he partnered with food company Tsumo Snacks and put his name (and face) on two new lines of THC-infused onion rings called “Snazzle Os.”
The 128 gram packets contain 100 mg of THC per bag – at least five times as much as in a joint.
Earlier this month, a pediatrician in Portland, Oregon, warned parents to keep cannabis edibles out of reach of children — recent data shows 7,000 children under six consumed them between 2017 and 2021.
Dr. Beth Ebel of the University of Washington told Yahoo News: “We see it all day long.
In October 2022, rapper Snoop Dogg collaborated with Snazzle Os on a line of onion ring snacks that contain 100 mg of THC per pack – the same as about five joints.
“My friends in the emergency room see kids come in and try to decide, does this kid have a brain bleed or a brain tumor? Or is it a child who is actually unconscious because he or she has consumed something?
He added that the risks to children’s health could be “irreversible”.
“One of the very worrying things is that these powerful products have a strong association with schizophrenia and psychotic disorders.”
“I’ve seen kids in the hospital using some of these products that perform better: little kids who do well in school, and they come around.” [Harborview Medical Center] after a psychotic episode.
“Sometimes schizophrenia develops throughout life and can be accelerated by these effective products.”
Recreational use of cannabis is legal in 24 US states, with Ohio becoming the latest state to greenlight the drug in November 2023.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
