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Population Health
In Their Own Words
Pennsylvania’s Cannabis Wave Is Already Here — And Our Mental Health System Isn’t Ready
Before Lawmakers Do Full Legalization, We Must Face the Reality: High-Potency Marijuana Already Harms Kids and Adults Alike
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This op-ed was posted on August 13, 2025 by Philadelphia Citizen.
The legalization of recreational marijuana remains unapproved in Pennsylvania even as various leaders up to the Governor circulate proposals to change that. But make no mistake. De facto legalization has already begun, and we need a better mental health system to treat the health problems that are already here and will only be growing.
The impact on kids and adults
Products with high amounts of THC, marijuana’s active ingredient, circulate widely — with some products diverted from medical dispensaries and others sold in vape shops. In 2024, Children Hospital of Philadelphia’s Poison Control Center reported receiving a call every day about a child under six being harmed by a THC-laden product in PA and Delaware. Some of these children must be put into ICUs or placed on ventilators. Others suffer from psychosis, anxiety and depression.
Children consume edibles containing marijuana thinking they are treats or simply the means to get high. But with their developing brains, kids face higher risks, especially if they regularly use the potent strains now for sale. Cannabis may also trigger serious conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder if children are predisposed to them.
Adult use is not risk-free either. Heavy users can experience cycles of intense nausea and vomiting. Actor David Krumholtz lost 100 pounds when his heavy marijuana use triggered extended bouts of vomiting, leading him to spend 10 hours a day in the bath of his New Jersey home in a desperate bid to relieve his symptoms.
Recent studies find that heavy marijuana use creates a sixfold higher risk of heart attack and a fourfold higher risk of stroke after three years.
As we learn all this, the market overseeing cannabis-related products is poorly regulated. Hemp products regularly exceed legal potency levels and are laced with fungus, pesticides and mold, according to an Inquirer analysis of 10 products.
We need a better system to reduce harm
As a researcher and ethicist working in mental health, and as a medical cannabis cardholder, I am familiar with the long effort to demonize cannabis and its users, and do not wish to add to it. If PA opts for full legalization amid the current budget crisis, we need to be smart about marijuana’s harms and benefits, adopting the recommendations of experts from the National Academy of Medicine which warned of the adverse effects of THC in the developing brain.
Read the full op-ed here.
Author
Dominic Sisti, PhD, MBE
Associate Professor, Medical Ethics & Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine
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