As many states across the country are loosening restrictions on the distribution of drugs such as marijuana and other psychedelics, Virginia is successfully making strides to crack down on the distribution of THC – the ingredient in marijuana that makes a person “high” – to minors.
As CBN News reported, the use of drugs such as weed has skyrocketed since the legalization of medical marijuana in most states and the decriminalization of the drug for “recreational use” in a handful of states.
In states like Oklahoma, the legalization has been accompanied by a rise in crime, homelessness, and child neglect cases.
“When we have fentanyl deaths and overdoses, our officers carry Narcan. I really believe that started with marijuana,” Muskogee Police Chief Johnny Teehee told CBN News last January.
Attorney General Jason Miyares recognizes this problem hitting a number of states and has been laser-focused on enforcing the law in Virginia to remove illegal THC products from the market.
“Unregulated, THC products marketed towards children are dangerous and illegal. Virginia is serious about ensuring these edibles do not make it into the hands of underage users,” said Miyares. “My Consumer Protection team will continue to enforce the law by cracking down on these illegal, counterfeit products and protect our youth.”
More recently, the state’s top law enforcement officer cited a major victory for child safety and public health after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision to give Virginia the ability to regulate hemp-derived products with intoxicating (THC) levels.
According to the lawsuit, “Virginia recognized it had a marijuana problem.”
As a result, it enacted a bill in 2023 to regulate “the retail sale of hemp products based on their ‘total tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration'”.
However, three Virginians sued the state over the law arguing it violated a federal law, the 2018 Farm Bill, which authorized the production of hemp, but created a loophole that legalized Delta-8 THC vape products, which are synthesized from hemp.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed earlier this week that striking down the preliminary injunction would have restricted the state’s right to regulate the intoxicating substances.
“This decision is a huge win for common sense and Virginia’s families. Harmful counterfeit THC products marketed to children will not be tolerated in the Commonwealth. The safety and well-being of our kids must always come first,” said Miyares.
Miyares has consistently taken steps to protect minors from these harmful products.
Last September, the state took action against a Virginia retailer who sold THC-containing, edible gummies to three minors, who had an adverse reaction to the products.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
According to the complaint, the products did not contain child-resistant packaging and did not have any labeling indicating that the products contained THC.
“The intoxicating products, often indistinguishable from common snacks and candies, are dangerous to minors, especially young children. Virginia’s approach strikes a proper balance between supporting a legitimate hemp industry and preventing the exploitation of children,” Miyares’ office explained in a press release.
Today’s Marijuana Is Much More Dangerous
As CBN News has reported, today’s marijuana is much more potent than it used to be decades ago.
THC is the main psychoactive compound in marijuana and delta-9 THC is the most psychoactive strain of THC. Nora Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told CBN News the high-content THC people are consuming can cause serious mental issues.
“The higher the dose of THC for example, the higher the likelihood that you will end up with a psychotic episode, and that will lead you to end up in the emergency room department, and that is a very scary experience,” said Dr. Volkow.
Additionally, Volkow shares that doctors are seeing patients suffer from an array of physical health complications from high THC consumption.
“There are other actions of the drug that could interfere with cardiac function, pulmonary function, and the irrigation of blood to the brain. All of these are a new presentation that physicians are seeing in the emergency department associated with consumption of high-level THC that we actually didn’t even know existed,” she said.
The most recent CDC figures available show more than one in five high school seniors vaped THC in 2020. That number is a significant increase from previous years and is likely greater today.
Nick Sauber told CBN News he started vaping THC when he was just 14 years old and he quickly became addicted.
“The only thing I was thinking about was, ‘When’s the next time I can use this again?’ Like, ‘When’s the next time I can go to the bathroom, or the teacher will let me go?'”
Very quickly, Sauber noticed the drug was causing other effects.
“The longer I used it, the more my mental health started deteriorating. My grades were slipping. I couldn’t really think or concentrate as well,” he said. “In my mind, I was trapped in this delusion that I have to commit suicide because my parents are going to find out.”
Volkow says these episodes like Sauber’s are becoming more common.
“The higher the content of THC, the higher the risk of becoming addicted to marijuana, to THC. And that, in turn, results in a disruption of behavior that can have very long-lasting consequences and unfortunately is actually quite challenging to treat,” she said.
As many states across the country are loosening restrictions on the distribution of drugs such as marijuana and other ps Read More
