DUID Victim Voices has been highly critical of the Denver Post’s inaccurate reporting, cheerleading for commercialization of psychotropic drugs like marijuana and ignoring its adverse consequences to Colorado citizens. The Feb 28, 2020 editorial suggests they may be changing their tune. Then again, maybe not.
The editorial was entitled: “Colorado should restrict the potency of marijuana concentrates, keep them away from teens.” It recognized data from multiple peer-reviewed journals citing the link between psychosis and the use of THC, especially in our youth using high-potency concentrates.
It is an encouraging first step for the Denver Post to admit it was misled by the marijuana industry with respect to the safety of their products. Nevertheless, we fault the Denver Post’s editorial for the following:
1. The claim in the first paragraph that Colorado doctors are seeing an alarming spike in patients suffering from psychosis, especially in young patients using high-potency marijuana concentrates is labeled as an anecdote.
2.The Post reiterates its support for marijuana as a holistic remedy for aches, pains and anxiety.
3. It suggests we ought to keep concentrates away from teens, but never mind marijuana.
4. It feeds the myth that published data merely prove correlation, not causation.
Paula Riggs, MD in the Division of Substance Dependence, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine stated in the 2020 textbook Cannabis in Medicine (Springer, K Finn ed.), “Taken together, the body of current research addressing relationship between cannabis use and psychosis strongly suggest that cannabis use is causally related to the risk of psychosis.”
Nevertheless, we should applaud the Denver Post for at least having the courage to “peek behind the curtain” to begin to learn the truth.