Put down the weed!
Many across the country are using marijuana at an increasingly high rate – but researchers are begging young women who use the common drug to lay off after a shocking study.
Researchers found young women who smoke the drug could be triggering severe fertility issues — like cutting the number of eggs they carry by half.
University of California-Irvine researchers gave female mice the drug tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — the chemical found in cannabis — and found it negatively affects healthy ovarian follicles.
When the mice who were given THC reached their adolescent age, researchers found they had 50 percent fewer healthy ovarian follicles than the control group (also at their adult age).
A mouse reaches adolescence by the time they’re three months old.
UCI researchers point to the body’s endocannabinoid system as the culprit. They believe the system negatively impacts healthy ovarian follicles, damaging them in some way while processing THC or switching them on too soon.
In 2021, data collected on marijuana usage in young adults entirely and marijuana usage on a daily showed sky-rocketing numbers since the trend was first monitored in 1988, according to National Institute on Drug abuse.
There was a major jump in young adults who used recreational weed in 2021, which was 43%, compared to young adults who used it in 2016 and 2011.
An 11 percent increase of young adults using weed daily in 2021 was reported in comparison to 8% in 2016 and 6% in 2011.
And not only is the issue with the young generation smoking the drug — it’s the use of THC in edibles — such as products like cookies, gummies, and brownies that can easily be purchased at corner stores.
Poison control centers are also putting blame on edibles for the rise in reported calls for weed-related incidents.
“Our study describes an upward trend in marijuana abuse exposures among youth, especially those involving edible products,” Dr. Adrienne Hughes, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health & Science University and coauthor of the study, said in a statement.
“Compared to smoking cannabis, which typically results in an immediate high, intoxication from edible forms of marijuana usually takes several hours, which may lead some individuals to consume greater amounts and experience unexpected and unpredictable highs,” she added.
New York City is among the 21 states who legalized marijuana for recreational use, as more states are more than likely to follow — only adding to the growing problem.