SUNBURY — A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics opposes medical and recreational marijuana use for kids. The report states the brain continues to develop until the early 20’s and marijuana use can have potential short and long-term effects. Dr. Jessica Pagana-DeFazio of Sunbury supports the report’s findings, “It causes serious mental health disorders such as addiction, depression and psychosis.”
Dr. Pagana-DeFazio continued, “It effects our kids that are driving and our adults that are driving and also our young children, with their problem solving skills, it can interfere with their learning.”
She says marijuana usage continues to grow, “So in 1995, only four percent of people were using marijuana recreationally and then in 2014, it’s 12 percent. But now with this legalization of marijuana, we believe that it is probably closer to 20 percent.”
Dr. Pagana-DeFazio says legalizing marijuana could be very dangerous for kids, “Now legally you are not allowed to smoke under 21, but we know if you legalize it for over 21, they are going to have more access to marijuana. We know that the nine percent of people that experiment with marijuana become addicted, but if you are an adolescent, 17 percent will become addicted, because it actually changes their brain chemistry.”
She recommends everyone visiting the American Academy of Pediatrics’ website to learn more about the study at www.aap.org. (Ali Stevens)
