EDIBLES
Edibles are food and beverages infused with THC, such as brownies, cookies, candy, sodas and tea. A lot of edible packaging resembles familiar candy and snacks that kids recognize, creating the impression that these high-content THC products are harmless. They are not.1
When a person smokes marijuana, he feels the effects immediately. When a person consumes marijuana-infused food or drinks, it may take 30 to 60 minutes to digest, so the length of time for the drug to become activated is longer. Because of this, people often eat more. When the effects finally hit, the chances of becoming extremely intoxicated are greatly increased.2
The THC content in edibles can vary widely, resulting in reports of extreme paranoia and anxiety and, in some cases, even psychotic episodes. Here are just a few notable cases involving edibles:
- A reporter for The New York Times who ate a marijuana-infused candy bar said he spent the next eight hours curled up in a “hallucinatory state.”3
- A Wyoming teen ate a sixth of a marijuana-infused cookie. After about an hour he didn’t feel anything, so he ate the rest of the cookie. After the effects of the drug kicked in, he jumped to his death from a fourth-floor balcony.4
VAPING
Vaping marijuana involves placing it (or THC oil pods or cartridges containing 70–90 percent THC concentrate) in a vaporizer or e-cigarette and inhaling the heated vapor.5
In addition to the harmful effects of high-potency THC on the brain and the rest of the body, vaping marijuana and tobacco, especially among teenagers and young adults, can cause another type of lung injury. It is called EVALI (E-cigarette or Vaping product use-Associated Lung Injury), which can lead to respiratory failure and death.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), EVALI has caused nearly 70 deaths and over 2,700 hospitalizations in one year. Many of these victims suffer lifelong lung damage. One hospitalization resulted in a double-lung transplant for a 17-year-old.6
The CDC also concluded that 82 percent of the vape cases investigated in connection with EVALI were found to contain marijuana. Due to this, the CDC and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have advised people to stop using THC vapes altogether.7
STREET NAMES8
MARIJUANA
- Blaze
- Buds
- Dagga
- Dope
- 420
- Ganja
- Grass
- Herb
- Homegrown
- J
- Mary Jane
- Pot
- Puff
- Reefer
- Skunk
- Texas Tea
- Trees
- Weed
HASHISH
- Budder
- Crumble
- Hash
- Honey Oil
- Kush
TERMS FOR THE AMOUNT9
Dime Bag: one gram of marijuana
Dub of Bud: two grams of marijuana
Quarter of Bud: a quarter-ounce of marijuana
Half a Zip: a half-ounce of marijuana
Zip: one ounce (28 grams) of marijuana
QP: a quarter-pound of marijuana
REFERENCES
- Drug Alert: Marijuana Edibles, Just Think Twice, US Drug Enforcement Administration
- Cannabis Edibles Aren’t as Safe as People Think, Healthline.com
- Don’t Harsh Our Mellow, Dude, by Maureen Dowd, June 3, 2014, The New York Times
- Denver Coroner: Man Fell to Death after Eating Marijuana Cookies, by John Ingold, October 2, 2016, The Denver Post
- Lessons Learned from State Marijuana Legalization, 2020–2021 Edition, Smart Approaches to Marijuana
- Teen Receives Double Lung Transplant after Vaping-Related Illness, by Jen Christensen, November 12, 2019, CNN
- Vaping Illness Update: FDA Warns Public to Stop Using Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-Containing Vaping Products and Any Vaping Products Obtained Off the Street, US Food and Drug Administration
- Common Drug Slang, Willingway.com
- A Visual Guide to the Most Common Measurements of Weed, Business Insider
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