WILDWOOD – Joe Faldetta, Cape Assist’s director of prevention services, said that New Jersey has been following the same pattern as Colorado when it comes to legal cannabis.
Colorado, he said, legalized medical marijuana in 2000 and recreational marijuana in 2012. New Jersey legalized medical marijuana in 2010 and recreational use in 2020.
“Colorado now has more marijuana dispensaries than McDonald’s and Starbucks combined,” he said.
Faldetta said Colorado’s number one cause of death in youth is suicide, and its number one intoxicant used by youth is THC – the major psychoactive component of marijuana.
Speaking about a town hall meeting held at Wildwood High School, April 18, Faldetta said people should pay attention to the example Colorado has set for New Jersey.
“The community will have to decide what it wants it to look like,” Faldetta said.
Faldetta said three things happened when marijuana use was legalized.
“But first, we have to move away from the term ‘legalized...’ it is commercialized by an affluent community. When it is commercialized, access increases,” he said.
After increased access, Faldetta said, the perception of harm decreases. He said when children see it being sold in local stores and being used in the home, they wonder how it could be bad.
Finally, the potency of cannabis products, the THC level, dramatically increases. He said in the 1970s, what might be referred to as the marijuana of Woodstock, the THC level was 1% to 3%. Twenty years later, the THC content was about 6%. Faldetta said, today, the THC level of cannabis in its smokeable form is about three times higher, or 18% to 23%, and the concentration in edibles averages 56%.
“We know these three things are going to happen,” Faldetta said.
Now, he said, is a good time for parents to have talks with their children about drugs and mental health. He said law enforcement would quite often deal with juvenile drug and alcohol misuse and direct them toward organizations that could help divert them from misusing substances. However, local law enforcement is somewhat prevented from dealing directly with juveniles today due to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Juvenile Justice Reform Directive 2020-12.
Faldetta said the directive was issued because the juvenile justice system wasn’t working.
“Youth would be put on probation; youth would violate probation and be sent to jail. (The system) just prepared them to go to jail and get them comfortable with being incarcerated. That’s not a useful strategy,” Faldetta said.
He said one of the unintended consequences of that system is there is no longer motivation to comply with the law. Faldetta said the police were told they could not approach youth based on the odor of marijuana or the presence of red Solo cups, and there were fewer immediate consequences of making a bad choice.
As a result, Cape Assist is trying to alert parents to be more aware of their children’s direction and mental health.
“We’re highlighting for parents where resources are,” Faldetta said. “The same contacts are not outside anymore – the information will have to come from them.”
Faldetta said when youth are struggling, they are more apt to turn to substances and today’s youth have experienced the hardships associated with the Covid pandemic, the proliferation of cyberbullying, and the frequency of school shootings.
“Our kids are going through a challenging time, and there are higher instances of youth using substances and suffering mental health challenges,” he said.
Now, with marijuana legalized and commercialized, it is becoming more normalized, as well as accessible – despite the high cost. Faldetta said the apparently high cost of marijuana in the legal market is one of the reasons the illegal market doesn’t dry up.
With youth experiencing a higher degree of stress, looking for diversions from stress, and with marijuana being more available, it is incumbent on parents to be aware of the mental health condition of their children. Faldetta said parents will take care of their children’s physical health – take them to the doctor when they are sick, get eye and dental exams, etc. – and they need to pay attention to how their children feel, as well. He said sometimes youth do not want to feel something, and then they might turn to drugs to kill the emotional pain. Faldetta quoted Brene Brown, Ph.D., who said this is impossible.
“We cannot selectively numb emotions. When we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions,” Brown said in her book, “The Gifts of Imperfection.”
Faldetta said drugs will numb one’s entire life and the big question is, “Why don’t you want to be connected to your life?” He said before a youth gets to that point, parents should try to have normal conversations about mental health. He said starting to have these conversations at age 7 is easier than starting at 17.
“Have the connection with your children early so you can have the conversation when they are struggling,” he said.
He said parents need to foster resiliency, talk about goals for the future, what it will take to help make them happen, and consequential thinking – giving them tools to manage anxiety, stress, and anger – skills to make them less likely to move to drugs.
Cape Assist, he said, is working to address these issues community-wide. Faldetta said fellowship is a positive force in recovery and being connected with a community of people living the same lifestyle as you, which has been a model of recovery for many years.
Cape Assist scheduled a second town hall discussion on substance misuse and the community at the SOAR Church, 1324 Dehirsch Ave., Woodbine, May 16, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
