The situation elevated due to the fact that most parents think that weed is just weed, no cause for alarm. Yet Partnership President Steve Pasierb said that parents should not take the issue of marijuana for granted. “Parents are talking about cocaine and heroin, things that scare them. Parents are not talking about prescription drugs and marijuana. They can’t wink and nod. They need to be stressing the message that this behavior is unhealthy.”

The report showed that marijuana use has increased from only 19% in 2008 to about 27% in 2011. Teens who smoked pot at least 20 times in a month also climbed from 5% in 2008 to last year’s 9%. That’s about 1.5 million teens who regularly light up marijuana.

Previous researches made also had parallel results, like that of a recent survey made by a team from the University of Michigan. The initiative was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that claimed marijuana use is again on the rise after a decline in the last decade.

Results of the study have linked the use of pot and other drugs. It was suggested that teens who regularly use marijuana were also twice more likely to take cocaine or ecstasy.

The study also tackled the issue of pain medications abuse, putting Vicodin and Oxycontin as the drug of choice among teens. It was also noted that ecstasy or cocaine use is highest among Hispanic teens (almost 50%). African American teens followed suit with almost 42% hooked on prescription medications while that of Caucasian teens reached 39%.

School administrators admitted that they have caught students bringing vodka-soaked candies and marijuana pipes made from ink pens at school.

But Bradford Health Services administrator Terry Childers said parents should be on the lookout if their kids start to read the obituary section of a newspaper. “They would look for people who died of something like cancer, knowing their houses probably had a lot of prescription drugs in them. Then, these kids would wait for when the funeral was being held and rob the house,” Childers said.

Other signs of drug addiction shared by the lecturers include stealing from parents, academic troubles, unusual disruptive behavior, lying, and getting home late.

Childers added that another drug popular to students is Spice. A synthetic marijuana formulated by a scientist from Clemson University, Spice is sold in the United States as incense or potpourri which are readily available in tobacco and convenience stores.

A.J. Creswell who is a senior counselor for the Insight program, a program focused on spreading awareness of teen substance abuse, added that continued use of Spice could lead to psychosis.

Yet prescription medications claim the top spot when it comes to the drug of choice among teenagers. According to Creswell, kids can easily get hold of such drugs with about 70% of users confessing that they get their supply from their parents’ prescriptions.

Creswell warned parents on the growing problem of substance abuse. “The kids who come through my program are some of the smartest I’ve ever met,” he said. “Drug dealing isn’t just some guy on a street corner. Kids are getting them from friends, at home, even at gas stations.”

A research conducted at the University of California yielded the result which is considered a big leap from the previous data gathered. Experts say that studies as such are very important in determining what programs are necessary to control present conditions. “The importance of getting accurate data like these cannot be stressed enough, as treatment programs and the financial support required for them are often guided by studies that demonstrate both prevalence and risk.”

Study author Danielle Ramo from UCSF Department of Psychiatry said they took advantage of technology and social media to gather data for their research. Ramo said they were surprised with the results. “…. rates were much higher, which shows the problem might be larger than we realize.”

The study was done with 3,500 participants all considered regular smokers. They remained anonymous and were asked to confirm any marijuana use in the last 30 days. After recording their answers, it was found out that from the 68% who smoked cigarettes on a daily basis, 53% of them also smoked pot within the last month.

Study senior author Judith Prochaska made it clear that being in a medical marijuana state was not a factor in the prevalence of marijuana use or the use of both tobacco and marijuana by their sampling population. There was no significant difference in results too when age, income, or gender factors were taken into consideration.

For Bruce Goldman, director of Substance Abuse Services at Zucker Hillside Hospitals in Glen Oaks, the findings of the study was what he actually expected. He also emphasized the need for new methods in developing treatment programs for substance abuse.

The same sentiment was heard from study author Prochaska. “Adapting the social media aspect into intervention and incorporating the social environment are new ways to approach finding the most effective means for treatment.”

Senate Bill 409, which allows patients with debilitating medical conditions to acquire up to 6 ounces of marijuana or grow up to four plants in a secured facility, had law enforcement officials doubtful as to the benefits of marijuana to patients and raised concerns on people who might be taking advantage of the said provision.

Bill sponsor Sen. Jim Forsythe (R- Strafford), who is a former Air Force pilot, claimed that the only motivation why he is pushing for the bill to be approved is the fact that it will be able to help patients who have resorted to just about every drug but only found the remedy in marijuana.

Gov. John Lynch, who has been one of the strongest members on the opposition’s side when it came to medical marijuana issues, has sat down with Sen. Forsythe and confirmed that he is looking over the senator’s proposal. Forsythe said he would welcome the governor’s participation and ideas for the improvement of the bill but the governor’s camp has yet to coordinate with his group.

When the bill was passed by the House and the Senate, Governor John Lynch submitted a veto and there weren’t enough votes to override it.

During the last meeting, medical marijuana supporters and non-supporters gathered where there were noticeably fewer medical marijuana patients. Officials from the Attorney General’s office and police representatives stood for the opposition’s side during the forum.

New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police representative Chief Franklin Goldstein voiced out the group’s apprehension on the confessions of patients that were relieved of their illnesses through medical marijuana. “If there are scientific studies that show the benefits, let’s see them. What we’re hearing is anecdotal,” Goldstein said.

Governor Jan Brewer has signed the bill into law amidst the continuing and long-running debate on the legalization of marijuana in the state. This latest development on banning the said drug in campuses is another blow to the different groups pushing for medical marijuana laws.

State representative Amanda Reeve (R) said that the issue of medical marijuana legalization is very critical, but she believes they made the right decision in passing the bill. “Our children and adult students are far too important to risk. I’m proud to say we acted swiftly and decisively when confronted by this obvious concern,” she said.

It is expected that by summer this year, the law will be in full effect, but not after the coming criticisms and legal challenges that it will be facing.

The National Drug Policy Alliance confirmed that Arizona is one of the 16 states so far that has adopted a medical marijuana law when voters for the legalization of the drug succeeded with paper thin margin in 2010.

Matthew Benson, spokesman for the Arizona governor, told the press that marijuana remains a federal controlled substance and it will not be given the opportunity to spread in campuses, at least in their state. Rep. Reeve was quick to add that around $666 million in state funding for colleges and universities will be put at risk if medical marijuana was given the go signal in said institutions.

The latest development in Arizona comes after the federal government in California forced shut down of medical marijuana shops and greenhouses near schools and parks.

Hence, more and more people are legally acquiring marijuana to smoke or eat to help ease their pain and other symptoms of their illnesses. The latest count of medical marijuana patients is at 22,000 in Arizona alone.

The Arizona Department of Health Services records show that from the total population of medical marijuana patients, 75% of them are male. Those aged 31 to 50 make up the largest percentage of users at 40%, while people aged 51 to 81 years old comes next at a close 35%. Only 25% of patients can be accounted to patients aged 18 to 30 years old.

Most medical marijuana patients complain of chronic pain and muscle spasms. Those affected with hepatitis C, seizures, and cancer also take advantage of medical marijuana to ease their ailments.

Department of Health Services director Will Humble said that the latest data proves the benefits of their medical marijuana program. “The fact that we’ve got an older demographic tends to make me think that we did a decent job. When you add up the folks older than 41, it’s well over half of the participants. That doesn’t mean there’s not recreational users in that group, but as you get older, you do tend to get more debilitating medical conditions, so I’m encouraged by that.”

Yet critics of the program are still not convinced and fail to see the need for medical marijuana laws. Carolyn Short who heads the Keep Arizona Drug Free organization claims that the data collected by the state only shows that more people are exaggerating their conditions just to get hold of marijuana legally. She stressed that marijuana should only be the last resort for victims of terminal diseases if all other means for treatment fail.

Charles, 15, agreed to be interviewed for as long as his last name was not revealed. A sophomore in Roaring Fork High School, he had only been smoking and selling pot for about half a year when his activities were discovered: “A kid told on me… His parents found the marijuana and they asked where he got it, and he told them it was me. Three days later, I was getting in a car and police cars pulled up and said, ‘Come with us.’”

Charles’ source for the pot he was selling was the older brother of a friend. Charles met him a week after trying his first joint at a party, and was presented with the proposition to earn money selling pot. The source, a guy in his 40s, had been selling pot for decades; nowadays, however, he is exclusively selling medical marijuana after he was able to get a marijuana registry card for back pain.

Charles commented: “They’re really easy to get them around here… you can get them for headaches.”

Lori Mueller, program director of Youth Zone, a diversion system for young offenders, shared that teen attitudes towards pot is changing: “Marijuana is no big deal to them… And it’s very hard to work with kids who truly believe — or whose parents believe — that marijuana is medicine. If it’s medicine, how can it be wrong? When they see a medical marijuana shop on every other block, and they have friends or parents of friends who have medical marijuana cards, it doesn’t feel to them like there’s anything to worry or be nervous about.”

Charles has since gone back to school, and hopes to join the military after high school. He intends to use that goal as a motivating factor to stay clean, knowing that having a drug conviction will flush that dream down the drain.

Findings from Kelly’s program called “Drug Use Trends in Charlevoix County” have shown that more high school students are engaging in marijuana use than cigarettes smoking. Partly due to medical marijuana laws, kids’ perception on the dangers of marijuana has decreased. In 2008, Michigan approved its medical marijuana program and is now one of the 16 states which have adopted such policy.

Another contributing factor to the increase in prescription drug abuse and marijuana use is the availability of such substances online. Prescribed medications and synthetic cannabinoids such as K2 and Spice are readily available for purchase online.

“We had a kid come in, saying he could buy some ‘stuff’ online for $50, and then ‘flip’ it for $700,” Kelly recalled. “Synthetics create all kinds of legal, political and health issues.”

The program, which was initiated by the BASES executive director, aimed to help parents and concerned citizens understand the trends that kids get into as far as prescription drugs and marijuana abuse are concerned. They were also taught about the dangers of addiction that could lead to psychological problems and the treatments that can help those who become victims of abuse.

Kelly, who is one of the co-founders of BASES, also suffered from alcohol addiction during his college years. He has remained sober since 1984 after enlisting in an alcoholism treatment program. Today, he is one of the resource persons of their program and is currently working on his master’s degree in counseling. He also works as a relapse prevention specialist and as an advanced addiction counselor for their organization.

Marijuana contains the active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol more commonly known as delta-9-THC or just plain THC. These compounds enter the system as soon as pot is smoked, but it takes a longer period of time to arrive in the blood stream if weed is ingested instead. The average time for its effect to manifest in the body if ingested is about 20 minutes to an hour.

Because THC is rapidly metabolized in the body to become metabolites, the substance can only be detected in the bloodstream for up to a few hours. THC is able to produce more than 80 types of metabolites which are stored in the body and gradually excreted through the urine or feces of its user.

Urine drug tests can detect THC and its metabolites for up to 13 days. There are some forms of metabolites, though, that can be easily eliminated with half-life rates from 20 hours up to 10 to 13 days usually stored in the fat tissues of the body.

Factors that affect how long marijuana stays in the body are the frequency and the amount of the illicit drug used as well as the length of time that a user has been consuming weed. If a pot smoker takes the drug on a daily basis, he can test positive for up to 45 days since the last date of use; heavy smoking of marijuana could render a user to test positive for up to 90 days after the last use.

False positive test results for marijuana testing are surprisingly rare unlike other common drugs. There isn’t any known substance that could trigger a positive result for marijuana especially for urine testing.

In a study conducted with nearly 2,000 teenager participants, those who smoked marijuana at least five times were twice as likely to develop psychosis in the next ten years or when they become young adults compared to those who did not use weed at all.

Psychosis is the condition when a person develops a pattern of unusual mental activities, such as believing in and talking to inanimate objects. Schizophrenia is a form of psychotic disorder which leads to loss of emotional expression and proper brain functions.

The risks become higher for teens who have parents or siblings who are already affected with schizophrenia or other psychotic problems. A normal teen with a family history of the psychotic disorder has a one out of ten chance of developing the condition as well. Teens who take marijuana dramatically double this rate.

To better illustrate the impact of pot on teens unaffected by psychosis or other mental disorders, chances of developing the mental abnormality is at 7 to 1,000. Smoking pot on a regular basis increases the risks making it 14 to 1,000.

In a study published in the Harvard Health Publication, studies on the effects of marijuana clearly has a long way to go. For instance, researchers may be able to account the active ingredient in pot, THC, as a factor which initiates chemical reactions in a user’s brain allowing the drug to have psychological and physical effects. Yet there isn’t a crystal clear explanation on how marijuana could lead a teen to be psychotic or schizophrenic later on in life.