Our mission is to unite the Anderson Valley community in efforts that promote community health through grassroots organizing to reduce the presence of drugs in the community and prevent youth substance abuse.

The Community Action Update Newsletter:
Feature Article, Spring 2009

MARIJUANA AND OUR YOUTH

Ralph Cantor asked us to let go of our preconceived ideas about whether or not marijuana is all good or all bad when he spoke to teens and adults in Anderson Valley on March 12th. Cantor, a program director for the Alameda County Office of Education, can probably tell you more about marijuana and its affects on the adolescent brain than anyone else.

Cantor presented the science of how marijuana affects the brain and why adolescents are so vulnerable. Today’s marijuana is 15 - 20% THC (delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol) as opposed to the 1- 3% THC content of the 1960’s (8 times stronger). The prefrontal cortex, or the thinking part of the brain, is the last to develop and is still developing until age 25.

The teen brain is going through a period of pruning and hard wiring, which begins at age 12. During this period of development, things a young person is interested in get strengthened in the brain. Things that are not used fall away. If how kids deal with being bored or stressed is by using marijuana, then this too gets hardwired into the brain. Cantor advises parents to tell their kids, “I don’t want you using alcohol or marijuana because your brain is still growing and this is a crucial time in its development. Wait.”

Here’s what happens when THC enters the brain. The nucleus accumbens, the reward center, which normally releases the chemical dopamine when we experience pleasure, is tricked into releasing too much dopamine. This is the driving force for why we do things—it feels good! But it also causes problems. The more one uses the drug, the more dopamine is produced, and the dopamine receptors become dulled, so that more and more of the drug is needed to get the same effect. This can lead to addiction.

The cerebellum is the part of the brain which controls coordination. THC slows it down, making simple everyday activities difficult. When one’s coordination slows down it is difficult to move the foot from the accelerator to the brake, making driving while stoned dangerous. The other place in the brain that is affected by THC is the hippocampus, the gateway to long-term memory. Normally, the hippocampus pulls up information that you need from longterm memory and in turn stores new information in long-term memory. When THC interferes, at first everything seems fresh and new. But what it really means is that you can’t pull out information you may need—like looking through glasses with dirty lenses—you can’t see clearly. At the same time, the hippocampus does not put new information into the long-term memory, which is why you may be forgetful. The hippocampus is very important for learning.

Cantor encouraged parents to nurture their children’s interests. Help them develop goals and a sense of well-being, and to know the difference between immediate pleasure and long-term happiness.