Unfortunately, as more dispensaries open throughout New Jersey and more sales of edible marijuana take place, there is also the misinformation and a lack of education on the potential harmful effects of marijuana use, including the belief that use of edible products is always safer than smoking marijuana. This article, “Are Edibles Safer Than Smoking,” demonstrates that consumers of marijuana products have to understand the health risks involved in using either of the products. As Ryan Vandrey, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins Medicine notes, “There’s tons of nuance there. You can’t black and white say edibles are safer than smoking, or smoking is worse than vaping- there are different risks for the different routes.”

Adult users need to be educated on how the two delivery systems work. Smoked marijuana travels through the respiratory system and makes its way to the brain much faster than marijuana edibles, which must first work their way through the digestive system before reaching the brain.  As a result, the expected high the user wants to experience will take longer when one consumes an edible. Other factors contribute to a variety of different experiencers for users, such as the contents of the stomach when an edible is consumed, the amount of THC (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana) in the edible, the number of edibles consumed, as well as the individual’s past use of marijuana.

If you would like to learn more about how marijuana, alcohol, opioids and other drugs that are affecting our children, I encourage you to schedule PDFNJ’s 15 Minute Child Break Presentation for your school, community or faith-based organization. This free multi-media program covers the latest drug trends and provides parents and other adult caregivers with effective preventive strategies to communicate with their kids about substance misuse and abuse.  You can also visit the PDFNJ website at www.drugfreenj.org and take advantage of the free media campaign to prevent marijuana misuse and abuse.