Speaker: Libby Stuyt, MD
Topic: The Problems with today’s high potency THC products

Description:

When Colorado legalized medical marijuana in 2000, the highest THC potency was 5 % in the plant and there were no concentrates. Concentrates began to appear in 2010 and have increased THC potency, some above 90% THC. Because these products have been aggressively marketed as “medical” (without any research to document safety or efficacy), people think they are safe. We have a significant increase in adolescents and young adults using these products with negative consequences.
At the conclusion of this presentation, participants should be able to:

• Understand how today’s marijuana is not like the marijuana they may have used in the past.
• Describe the effect of THC on the developing brain.
• Discuss how addiction happens and how addictive drugs work in the brain.
• Discuss the role high potency THC cannabis plays in addiction, anxiety, depression, suicide, psychosis, violence, cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, and cognitive impairment.
• Understand the regulatory gaps in Colorado that have negatively affected our most vulnerable citizens and recent legislation that attempts to mitigate some of the consequences

Bio:  

Dr. Stuyt is a board-certified Addiction Psychiatrist and has worked in the addiction/behavioral health field since 1990. She was the Medical Director for the Circle Program, a 90-day inpatient treatment program, funded by the state of Colorado, for persons with co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse who have failed other levels of treatment from June 1999 to May 2020. She was instrumental in helping the Circle Program to become tobacco free in January 2000 and has been a strong advocate of the need to address all addictions at the same time, including tobacco, to improve outcomes. She has been actively incorporating complementary treatments into treatment programs, including the 5-point ear acupuncture NADA (National Acupuncture Detoxification Association) protocol and BST (Brain Synchronization Therapy), to help patients recover from addiction as well as trauma which often underlie addiction and chronic pain issues. Her current mission is to educate as many people as possible on the un-intended consequences of the commercialization of marijuana in Colorado, focusing primarily on the deleterious effects of high potency THC on the developing brain.

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