Weed Gummies: The Hidden Danger of Cannabis Edibles

Cannabis edi­bles are not safer than smok­ing mar­i­jua­na, experts warn. They can cause severe men­tal health problems.

Many peo­ple think that weed gum­mies, choco­late and cook­ies are less potent and health­i­er than inhal­ing the drug. They are wrong.

The com­pa­nies that make these prod­ucts deceive con­sumers. They use bright col­ors and cute shapes to attract buyers.

But psy­chi­a­trists say that eat­ing cannabis is more harm­ful for your men­tal health than smok­ing it. You can get sud­den psy­chosis, schiz­o­phre­nia and depression.

Stud­ies show that reg­u­lar cannabis use increas­es the risk of severe psy­chosis by five times. THC, the chem­i­cal that makes you high, is to blame.

THC affects your brain and mood. It releas­es dopamine, the plea­sure hor­mone. But too much THC can mess up your brain.

Edi­bles are more dan­ger­ous than mar­i­jua­na in some ways, says Dr Lib­by Stuyt, an addic­tion psy­chi­a­trist. She works in Col­orado, where cannabis is legal.

She explains that edi­bles take longer to kick in than smok­ing. You may eat more because you think noth­ing is happening.

Then you get a big dose of THC. And the high lasts longer. Fat­ty foods like choco­late and cook­ies make THC stronger.

Edi­bles are also more decep­tive. They look like nor­mal can­dies or snacks. But they can cause vio­lent psychosis.

Some web­sites claim that weed gum­mies can help with anx­i­ety and depres­sion. But this is false.

A study of 68,000 US teenagers found that cannabis users were more like­ly to devel­op sui­ci­dal depres­sion. Smok­ing or eat­ing cannabis did not matter.

Cannabis can also shrink parts of your brain that con­trol moti­va­tion and emo­tion. A review of 101 stud­ies con­firmed that cannabis harms your men­tal health.

Anoth­er review of 10,000 hos­pi­tal vis­its in Col­orado found that edi­bles caused more severe reac­tions than smok­ing. Peo­ple had pan­ic attacks, hal­lu­ci­na­tions and seizures.

So don’t be fooled by the sweet appear­ance of cannabis edi­bles. They are not harm­less. They can dam­age your mind and body.