Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
'This Ain't Your Mother's Marijuana," Surgeon General Says
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
August 29, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — Federal health officials issued a national warning Thursday against marijuana use by adolescents and pregnant women, as more states legalize the increasingly potent drug for medicinal and recreational use.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Surgeon General Jerome Adams made the announcement, with Azar calling marijuana “a dangerous drug.” Officials said President Donald Trump has donated $100,000 — one-quarter of his annual government salary — toward a digital campaign to raise awareness of the risks. Trump has forgone his official salary since taking office.

Marijuana Has Gotten More Potent

The warning comes as legal marijuana has grown into a $10-billion industry in the U.S. with nearly two-thirds of states legalizing it, mainly for medical uses. An increasing number of states and localities are also allowing personal, recreational use.
Countering the opioid epidemic is a top issue for the White House, but marijuana had not gotten such high-level attention.
Adams said science shows that marijuana is harmful to the developing brains of teenagers and to the human fetus. The drug has also gotten stronger, with a three-fold increase in the concentration of the active ingredient THC in cultivated plants over the last 20 years.
“This ain’t your mother’s marijuana,” Adams said.

Federal Law Unchanged

While many states have changed their marijuana laws, federal law still treats it as a controlled substance akin to opioids.
Federal officials say they fear the trend toward legalization may make it more enticing for teenagers to try marijuana. It’s a commonly used drug among youths, they said, along with alcohol and e-cigarettes. No states allow legal marijuana use by teens.
Adams said that for teens it carries a risk of affecting brain development, which continues in the 20s. Frequent marijuana use by teenagers is associated with changes in parts of the brain that are involved with attention, memory, decision-making and motivation.
Among pregnant women, marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug, with about 7% reporting they had used it within the past month in a 2017 study. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics advise women not to use marijuana during pregnancy, and to discontinue the drug if they find out they are pregnant.
HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir said pregnant women taking marijuana to relieve morning sickness should stop. “If you have morning sickness, talk to your physician,” he said.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Freezes Future Grants to Harvard

DON'T MISS

Trump Denies Posting Image of Himself as Pope, Laughs Off Critics

DON'T MISS

Old Merced Sun-Star Newspaper Building Reduced to Rubble

DON'T MISS

US Seeks to Weaken Global Development Finance Efforts, UN Document Shows

DON'T MISS

Trump Signs Executive Order to Encourage US Drug Manufacturing

DON'T MISS

Dollar Slides Against Peers Weighed Down by Fresh Tariff Worries

DON'T MISS

Rivian to Build $120 Million Supplier Park in Illinois

DON'T MISS

Trump Signs Order Restricting Research That Enhances Pathogens

DON'T MISS

US Appeals Court Rejects Trump Bid to Revoke 400,000 Migrants’ Legal Status

DON'T MISS

Trump Orders the Reopening of Alcatraz Prison

UP NEXT

Don’t Have a REAL ID Yet? That Could Cause You Travel Headaches After May 7

UP NEXT

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial to Delve Into the Seediest Side of Rap’s ‘Bad Boy’

UP NEXT

Robbie Ray’s Gem Leads the Giants Over the Rockies

UP NEXT

World’s Tallest and Smallest Dogs Meet Up for a Playdate

UP NEXT

University of Texas Chancellor Is Named President of the University of California

UP NEXT

Here’s Why May the 4th Is Celebrated as Star Wars Day Across the Galaxy

UP NEXT

Military Parade on Trump’s Birthday Could Include More Than 6,500 Troops

UP NEXT

New CIA Videos Aim to Lure Chinese Officials

UP NEXT

Trump Taps Waltz for US Ambassador to the United Nations

UP NEXT

Brazilian Nun Who Was the World’s Oldest Person Has Died at 116

US Seeks to Weaken Global Development Finance Efforts, UN Document Shows

5 hours ago

Trump Signs Executive Order to Encourage US Drug Manufacturing

6 hours ago

Dollar Slides Against Peers Weighed Down by Fresh Tariff Worries

6 hours ago

Rivian to Build $120 Million Supplier Park in Illinois

6 hours ago

Trump Signs Order Restricting Research That Enhances Pathogens

6 hours ago

US Appeals Court Rejects Trump Bid to Revoke 400,000 Migrants’ Legal Status

6 hours ago

Trump Orders the Reopening of Alcatraz Prison

7 hours ago

Will CA Law Change to Allow Councilmembers to Govern While on Military Duty?

8 hours ago

Former Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Says He Met With Trump in Florida

8 hours ago

Trump Is About to Steal My Friend’s Christmas … and Yours

8 hours ago

Trump Administration Freezes Future Grants to Harvard

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Education informed Harvard University on Monday that it was freezing billions of dollars...

3 hours ago

Harvard University’s campus in Cambridge, Mass., Sept. 6, 2024. The Trump administration said on Monday, March 31, 2025, that it was reviewing roughly $9 billion in federal grants and contracts awarded to Harvard, accusing the school of allowing antisemitism to run unchecked on its campus. (Sophie Park/The New York Times)
3 hours ago

Trump Administration Freezes Future Grants to Harvard

Trump Takes Questions about Pope Image
4 hours ago

Trump Denies Posting Image of Himself as Pope, Laughs Off Critics

Merced Sun-Star building before demolition
5 hours ago

Old Merced Sun-Star Newspaper Building Reduced to Rubble

A 3D-printed miniature model of U.S. President Donald Trump with the United Nations logo in the background is seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo)
5 hours ago

US Seeks to Weaken Global Development Finance Efforts, UN Document Shows

Signage is seen outside of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in White Oak, Maryland, U.S., August 29, 2020. (REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo)
6 hours ago

Trump Signs Executive Order to Encourage US Drug Manufacturing

U.S. dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration taken May 4, 2025. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
6 hours ago

Dollar Slides Against Peers Weighed Down by Fresh Tariff Worries

The Rivian logo is shown on one of their new electric SUV vehicles in San Diego, U.S., December 16, 2022. (REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo)
6 hours ago

Rivian to Build $120 Million Supplier Park in Illinois

President Donald Trump announces the NFL draft will be held in Washington, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 5, 2025. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)
6 hours ago

Trump Signs Order Restricting Research That Enhances Pathogens

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend