Monthly News & Updates

January 2024 | Issue 29

Welcome to the Every Brain Matters monthly newsletter. We are a trusted educational resource for families wanting to stay safe from the harms of marijuana and the expanding drug crisis. We counter the false narratives pushed by the Big Cannabis industry with facts, statistics, peer-reviewed scientific data, and real-life stories. Most importantly, we support and advocate to protect families and communities.

Spotlight

As with all issues that affect public health, the question of legal cannabis should be decided by science and medicine –not personal opinion, not anecdotal stories, and definitely not by propaganda put out by the cannabis industry.

Study after study has found that the regular use of marijuana has profound and adverse effects on a person’s mental and physical health – impaired cognition, worsened memory, reduced emotional regulation, and a greater possibility of emotional disorders.

Chronic marijuana use has shown in some studies that it can even shrink the user’s brain.

And that’s the thing that makes marijuana so dangerous – how it directly affects the user’s brain. The severity of the damage is dose, usage, and age-dependent. The younger the person, the longer their history of use, and the heavier that use is, the greater the potential for negative consequences.

For a better understanding of what “Every Brain Matters” really means, let us take a closer look at the scientifically established link between the use of marijuana, mental illness, and overall brain health.

Click the image to keep reading...

Hope for Recovery

In this new era of industrialized THC, families need support, resources, and hope.

This month, instead of a Speaker's Meeting, we will have two webinars in February to bring recovery education to families.

Stages of Change: How to Respond to a Loved ones in The Addiction Cycle

Motivational Interviewing: How to Respond to Loved Ones

Access all our Family Recovery Resources here.

Voices of Marijuana Harms

Submit your testimony here.

Advocacy In Action

Parent Action Network, SAM is focused on training parents and families to help them feel more comfortable educating their elected officials by telling their stories and advocating for science-based drug policy decisions that protect public Health. We focus mainly on bringing awareness to the negative impact marijuana legalization has had on our families- our families have suffered from addiction, suicide, second-hand exposure toxicity, psychosis, amotivational syndrome, and other harmful effects of marijuana use. If you are interested in becoming a PAN advocate, sign up on our webpage today. Because of your voices, we are seeing more decision-makers become aware of this drug's harmful effects on public health and safety. Become a part of PAN at https://learnaboutsam.org/pan/

Please send the following letter to the Attorney General, the DEA, and your federal elected officials.

Attorney General Merrick Garland

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20530

Administrator Anne Milgram

Drug Enforcement Agency

8701 Morrissette Drive

Springfield, VA 22152

Dear

Please follow the science and not opinions and keep marijuana classified as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substance Use Act.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, up to 30% of users develop some degree of Cannabis Use Disorder, which includes problematic abuse, dependence, and addiction. Marijuana primes the brain for other addictions, and the younger the user is, the worse the damage can be. Individuals who initiate use before the age of 18 are up to 7 times more likely to develop a Substance Use Disorder.

Marijuana is also not “prescribed” like other medications – there is no standard dosage, formulation, frequency, or delivery system. Marijuana fails to meet every benchmark required for recognition as a legitimate medication that is FDA-approved to treat even a single condition, let alone dozens of conditions.

There is a literal mountain of scientific evidence that clearly shows that marijuana use is associated with a host of negative consequences to both physical and mental health, including cannabis-induced psychosis and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.

It seems clear that there is no basis for rescheduling marijuana. The vast majority of the so-called “benefits” of the drug are a false narrative pushed by special interest groups that stand to profit from expanded legalization.

Thank you,

Click the below image to read the full article on why marijuana should remain a Schedule 1 drug.

We want to hear about the advocacy work you are doing to protect our families. Please contact us at info@everybrainmatters.org

Moment of Science

2024, January 9 Cannabis-Related Disorders and Toxic Effects - Cannabis use was associated with an estimated 10% of drug-related emergency department visits in the United States in 2021.

2023, December 14 - Cannabis-Related Disorders and Toxic Effects

Almost half the persons with a diagnosis of cannabis use disorder have a current psychiatric disorder that is not a substance use disorder — most commonly major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder.