Average THC Levels Up 400 Percent in Last Eight Years, Expert Says Although it has been decriminalized and even made quasi-legal in some states, the dangers of marijuana have not gone away. That was the message March 27 in Annandale at a presentation made by the Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County titled "Marijuana Harmless? Think Again." Community leaders including health care professionals, counselors and law enforcement officials joined parents and students who related their own unfortunate experiences with marijuana and other drugs. [continues 452 words]
The new 2009 Fairfax County Youth Survey released in late October revealed a serious increase in teen marijuana use from the baseline low rates reported in the 2005 survey. Overall "recent-use" (past 30-day) rates for all students rose from 9.2 percent in 2005 to 11.6 percent in 2009, meaning a 26 percent increase. Especially alarming was the rate for boys, which increased 36 percent. Page 54 of the survey reads, "Usage ... increased from 2005 to 2009, for all grades, genders and race/ethnicities." This increase is consistent with national teen marijuana use trends. Experts say it is mainly attributable to two primary influences: Massive publicity about "medical marijuana" initiatives, which persuade teens that marijuana must be harmless if it's OK for medicine, and the proliferation of high-tech cell phones among students, giving local pushers direct access to students in the market for drugs and alcohol. [continues 394 words]
The U.S. Department of Justice has declared Thursday, Nov. 30, National Meth Awareness Day, an opportunity to collectively address a threat of increasing concern to Northern Virginia communities: abuse of the highly addictive drug methamphetamine. Surveying the devastation meth has brought to regions of the West and Midwest, Northern Virginia is comparatively fortunate. The area has yet to feel the full force of meth, a drug that breeds crime and violence, saps law enforcement and health care resources, and is associated with heartbreaking child abuse and neglect. [continues 543 words]
