There are now 24 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have legalized recreational marijuana. This change in attitude toward the drug was originally driven by a push to make it legal for medicinal purposes, i.e. for cancer patients and other people struggling with nausea. But over time this morphed into the kind of broader legalization we have today.
But as many have noted, the drug being sold today is not like the stuff some were smoking in the 1970s or 1980s. Today’s cannabis products are often many times more potent and along with that has come a host of problems that are only starting to be recognized by many doctors, everything from addiction to psychosis. As with any drug, the people who use it most frequently are the ones most likely to experience problems.
About 18 million people — nearly a third of all users ages 18 and up — have reported symptoms of cannabis use…
