Cannabis and the developing brain challenge risk perception.

Societal perception of cannabis as low-risk is contradicted by rising THC potency and falling CBD levels, creating what the authors call a "perfect cannabis storm" of unprecedented neurodevelopmental harm, especially for vulnerable populations. Legalization, increased availability, and highly modified strains have produced cannabis today with exponentially higher THC concentrations than a decade ago, while protective cannabinoids like CBD have declined. The authors contend that these interrelated societal, political, and business factors have led to unmatched cannabis exposure in human history, challenging the view of cannabis as harmless.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The past decade has seen a reduction in society’s perception of cannabis being of any risk or harm. However, we are in a transformational time in which cannabis’ health implications related to neurodevelopment, particularly for vulnerable populations, must challenge such perceptions of harmlessness. The combination of multiple interrelated factors — societal, political, and business — have created the “perfect cannabis storm” of unintended neurodevelopmental consequences with an unmatched exposure to cannabis compared with exposure levels never experienced before in human history. Increased exposure is driven by the drug’s increased availability across all levels of society. This is due to the legalization of cannabis in most states, coupled with the recent explosion of highly modified cannabis strains and extracted pure Δ9-tetrahydrocanabinol (THC), the prominent psychoactive cannabinoid from the plant. This explosion has led to diverse products consumed by numerous routes and with extremely high THC potencies. Thus, cannabis today is dramatically different from cannabis even ten years ago, with exponentially increased THC concentrations (1). At the same time, levels of other cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD) that appear to have some protective properties are lower in the plant, leading to THC/CBD ratios of 104 in 2017 versus 23 in 2008 (1). While some turn to dispensaries for “safer” cannabinoids, these products can contain far greater THC content (~70%) than the cannabis [...] Viewpoint