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Here's a medical miracle for you. A

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drug that relieves pain, reduces anxiety,

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improves your mood, and has no

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side effects. Too good to

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be true? Well millions of

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Americans believe that drug is marijuana.

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Are they right? I'm a physician,

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board-certified internist, and addiction medicine

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specialist. I've treated thousands of

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people whose addictions to opiates, alcohol,

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and other drugs were wrecking their

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relationships, their careers, and their lives.

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I'm telling you, marijuana can be

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both harmful and addictive, just like

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many other substances. What

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I've seen first-hand for 20 years

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is now becoming obvious to other

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doctors and researchers. Increased

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use of marijuana is leading to

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increased psychosis, bipolar mania, and

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even spontaneous vomiting, especially in adolescents

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and young adults. The

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younger the user, the less developed their brain,

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the more harmful the drug. Hate

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to burst your bubble, but that is the science. A

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2022 Gallup survey found 30% of Americans between 18 and 34

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years old use marijuana. When

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scientists at the University of Michigan asked young adults between

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19 and 30 if they'd used

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it within the past month, 29% said yes in

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2021, compared to 21% in 2016 and 17% in Daily

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marijuana use across all ages nearly doubled from

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6% in 2011 to 11% in 2021. That

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translates into over 13 million Americans

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compared with 5 million in the

1:33

decade before. There's no

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such thing as a bad drug. They are

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just molecules that affect human physiology. Most

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Americans use some form of a recreational

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substance, but ignoring or

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denying potential adverse effects creates

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a potential for serious harm.

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There's no free lunch with Mother Nature, so there

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are always side effects. My goal

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here is not to shame or scare anyone,

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but to raise awareness so you can

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make informed decisions. Speaking

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of that, keep in mind that marijuana has

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gone corporate. According to Forbes,

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legal marijuana is now a 20

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billion dollar industry and growing. There's

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a lot of vested interest in making sure you

2:12

don't hear the bad news. But

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there are risks. And

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the more you use and the higher the concentrations,

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the more the risk. Of course,

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most people who use marijuana won't

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have a psychotic break, develop bipolar

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disorder, or become schizophrenic. Just as

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most people who drink don't develop

2:30

alcoholic liver disease or alcohol dementia.

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Some individuals, and not a small number,

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will have a significant reaction to marijuana.

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And there's no way to know in advance. You

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won't know until it happens and then it

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might be too late. It wasn't

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always like this. The marijuana people use today

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is not the weed of my generation. It

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hasn't been for at least two decades. What

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changed? The answer is found

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in three letters. THC. THC

2:57

or tetrahydrocannabinol. The

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main psychoactive or mind-altering component of

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cannabis. It's what gets you high.

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Keith Humphries, a Stanford University professor

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of psychiatry and drug policy advisor

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to President Bush and Obama, testified

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to a Rhode Island State Senate

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committee that THC concentrations that

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increased from 3% in the

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80s up to over 20% in 2017. According to the New York Times

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in 2023, that

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figure is now nearing 100%

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THC. A 30-fold increase.

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And as the stuff gets stronger, so

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do its effects. The 2021

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National Survey on Drug Use and Health found

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that among the 52 million

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Americans 12 and older who used marijuana in

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the past month, 16 million

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were addicted. So

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nearly one-third of users can't quit,

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at least not without help, despite

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the drug's negative effects on their

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lives. In 2023, JAMA Psychiatry published

3:55

a study of marijuana habits among

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6.5 million Danes over the age

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of 16. The study found

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that marijuana addicts were twice as

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likely as non-users to be diagnosed

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with clinical depression and up

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to four times as likely to develop

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bipolar disorder with psychotic symptoms. A

4:13

study in Norway, also published in

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2023, concluded that among people who

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had no preexisting mental health issues

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who'd had a psychotic incident after

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using marijuana, 27% develop

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what has been characterized as schizophrenia.

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Are you with me? One out

4:30

of four perfectly healthy people who

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started using marijuana on a regular

4:35

basis developed a severe mental disorder.

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Some of them were my patients. Two

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of them were my family members. One

4:44

developed an addiction, one psychosis.

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They're now both fine but require treatment.

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They are among the lucky ones. But

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others weren't so lucky. Joshua

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Jimenez started using at 14 and

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was hospitalized three times for

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marijuana-induced psychosis. He committed

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suicide in 2021. He was 22. Kevin

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Bright was 15 when he started

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using marijuana to allegedly self-medicate for

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depression. Three years later, he

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suffered his first psychotic break. He

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ended his life at 29. Joshua

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and Kevin are not simply anecdotes.

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A 2023 JAMA study found

5:24

that cannabis-linked attempted suicides have increased

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at an average rate of 17%

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a year. Still

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want to take that miracle drug that

5:35

relieves pain, reduces anxiety, improves your mood

5:37

and has no side effects? I'm

5:40

Dr. Drew Pinsky for Prager University. If

5:43

this video helped to clarify your thinking, please

5:45

consider making a $5 donation

5:47

at prageru.com.