Marijuana Edibles
Increased Consumption of Marijuana Edibles by Teen
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Increased Consumption of Marijuana Edibles by Teen
Introduction
Recently, many teenagers have been associated with the use of Marijuana edibles. Compared to the previous years, it is the highest level of use in 30 years. Despite many states allowing the use of marijuana for recreational use, the use of marijuana in the form of edibles by teenagers and children is not legal. According to research, recent marijuana plants have increased in the level of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the most active part of the marijuana plant (Friese, Slater, Annechino & Battle, 2016). As such, marijuana products have become more potent and popular among the wrong population. As such, there are high risks of the use of marijuana edibles that have significantly been associated with poisoning.
Marijuana edibles products such as brownies, gummy bears, and cookies are associated with more complicated medical problems. In research done in Colorado, about 10 percent of marijuana cases were associated with marijuana edibles (Friese, Slater, & Battle, 2017). Moreover, these cases suffered from psychosis and anxiety compared to people who consume marijuana by smoking. Besides, heart problems were more prevalent among people who had eaten edibles. Also, 8 percent of these cases reported symptoms of heart attacks to the worse and irregular heartbeats. This is way higher compared to 3.1 percent of similar cases in smokers. However, this study described a correlation analysis but does not show that ingesting or smoking marijuana results in these conditions.
One main health promotion strategy that can be used to address the health disparity associated with marijuana edibles. It helps in overcoming major issues to occupational health and public health. The barriers addressed by this health promotion strategy includes the reduction of marijuana edibles consumption and dealing with the health issues that are already in place. Advocacy is crucial as it helps in building and maintaining occupational foundations that are crucial in shaping the social and political climate. The strategies and tactics of advocacy cannot just be described in terms of programs. This is because advocates are required to adopt responsive, imaginative, opportunists, and newsworthy tactics.
Advocacy would be a crucial promotion strategy when handling this health disparity as it will help one define the different behaviors that lead to people of different ages using marijuana edibles. Marijuana edibles are harmful to the body, and through advocacy, one can come up with occupational health programs that can be used in the improvement of the current situation and any other situations that may arise (Hopfer, 2014). Today, there is a huge number of teens who consume edibles and are addicted to them. In this case, advocacy will be crucial in understanding where the problem began and will introduce some measures that can be introduced to salvage the situation. Advocacy will also help drum up support to the re-evaluation of marijuana edibles and if they should be accepted in the society blindly or be banned.
The use of advocacy as a strategy meets the requirements of health promotion in different ways. One of those ways is the representation of crucial and specific ideas that are under consideration regarding the use of marijuana edibles in the teen environment. Besides, it helps in the documentation of stakeholder groups as well as their interests and values in ensuring health promotion. It is also relevant in the process of policymaking and decision making when it comes to factors involving health promotion. This strategy will also be crucial in the collection of information regarding the position of this health disparity. For health promotion, advocacy is the most effective method as it helps greatly when groups, individuals, and different sectors are involved. This strategy is also interrelated with empowerment and social support that can be crucial in health promotion.
One of the critical barriers of advocacy is the powerlessness of participants. For instance, when an advocacy team is working together, and there is a shortcoming or neglect, an experienced person in the team with practical and enough issues about the problem ignores the case as there is no power to either mention it or talk about it. Besides, there is also a lack of support (Jurns, 2019). This is because participants feel that they do not receive enough or any support from managers. Other barriers involved with advocacy include time constraints, limited communication, and the risk of advocacy too. Finding solutions for these barriers will be crucial as it will help in easily addressing this health disparity.
One major accomplishment of the use of advocacy as a strategy in healthcare is the legalization of medical marijuana. When advocating for the legalization, advocacy groups insinuated that cannabis is effective and safe for the treatment of medical and psychological conditions. The assessment of its use was based on various studies and research. In the same way, advocacy can be used in addressing the risks of teens using marijuana. This way, the advantages, and disadvantages are going to be analyzed by different advocacy groups, and they will come into a conclusion of the issues involved. Certainly, the use of marijuana edibles can be addressed using the advocacy strategy most appropriately. The main advantage about this strategy is that it considers different issues regarding a health issue before reaching a conclusion.
Currently, advocacy is being used to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. In order to build advocacy capacity, many healthcare facilities and stakeholders have embraced the development of advocacy expertise, engaged in advocacy at different levels, and fostered partnerships through advocacy. This strategy is already demonstrating benefits in health promotion, and the case serves as an excellent example of evidence.
I would rate the effectiveness of advocacy as a promotion strategy by 10/10. This is because there are many steps involved as well as entities in advocating for this issue. Despite there being other strategies, there are previous studies where advocacy has served its purpose most appropriately and beneficially. Based on these studies, I believe that advocacy would play a great role in addressing the issue of increased use of marijuana edibles among teens. Besides, through advocacy, advocacy groups can trace where this root issue began and establish ways of controlling it and stopping it.
To improve this health promotion strategy, I would advise that the barriers to advocacy are addressed most appropriately. This is because these barriers reduce the efficiency of this strategy. Besides, advocacy groups need to work together in solving the issue at hand for them to be able to speak in one voice.
Conclusion
The advocacy strategy will play a crucial role in addressing health disparity. Irrespective of the recent laws by the government, allowing the use of medical marijuana due to pressure from advocacy groups, I believe advocacy groups are going to take a twist into this health disparity. This is because it mostly seems to be affecting teenagers, and if not addressed in the right way, the world might be losing some of the most active people in the society. With the help of advocacy groups, the community, and individuals, increased use of marijuana edibles can be reduced. Advocacy will play a crucial role and will be a major in addressing the issues involved with this health disparity.
References
Friese, B., Slater, M. D., Annechino, R., & Battle, R. S. (2016). Teen use of marijuana edibles: A focus group study of an emerging issue. The journal of primary prevention, 37(3), 303-309.
Friese, B., Slater, M. D., & Battle, R. S. (2017). Use of marijuana edibles by adolescents in California. The journal of primary prevention, 38(3), 279-294.
Hopfer, C. (2014). Implications of marijuana legalization for adolescent substance use. Substance Abuse, 35(4), 331-335.
Jurns, C. (2019). Policy Advocacy Motivators and Barriers: Research Results and Applications. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 24(3).
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