FAIRFIELD TWP, Ohio — As Hamilton prepares for recreational marijuana dispensaries, a community conversation in Fairfield Township focused on a different side of cannabis legalization: what happens when young people encounter today's high-potency THC products.
WATCH: Why Ohio’s changing marijuana landscape has local advocates raising concerns about today’s high-potency THC
The Sept. 8 event at Walden Ponds Community Nazarene brought parents, prevention advocates, mental health and recovery organizations and other community members together for a resource fair, presentation and question-and-answer session.
The event was part of the #THCFreeAmerica U.S. Tour organized by Johnny's Ambassadors, a youth THC prevention organization founded by Laura Stack.
Stack's message is deeply personal.
She lost her 19-year-old son, Johnny, in 2019. According to Johnny's Ambassadors, Johnny began using marijuana at 14 and later progressed to high-THC concentrates. The organization says he experienced psychosis and other mental health symptoms before his death by suicide.
Stack now travels the country sharing Johnny's story and talking with communities about youth cannabis use. Johnny's Ambassadors says its mission is to educate teens, parents and communities about the potential harms of today's high-potency THC products.
“Just because it's legal for adult use does not mean that it's safe for youth to use,” Stack said.
Today's cannabis is much more potent
One of the central topics of the Fairfield Township discussion was the amount of THC in cannabis products today compared with decades ago.
Kristina Latta-Landefeld with Envision Partnerships said potency is one of the biggest differences between cannabis products available today and those used generations ago.
“The biggest difference between THC products from 50 years ago to today is really the concentration of THC,” Latta-Landefeld said.
At the event, presenters cited data showing average cannabis contained between 4% and 8% THC in the 1990s. By 2020, that average had climbed to more than 20%.
That increase in potency is part of why prevention advocates say parents and young people need to understand that today's cannabis products are not necessarily comparable to products from previous generations.
Elissa Mazer with ASAP Cincinnati said the age when someone first begins using cannabis can also make a difference.
“The earlier you start, the more likely it is to become a problem lifelong,” Mazer said.
Johnny's Ambassadors focuses specifically on youth exposure to high-potency marijuana products, including marijuana, concentrates, vapes and edibles. The organization says its prevention work addresses adolescent brain development, mental illness, psychosis and suicide.
Hamilton changes course on marijuana dispensaries
The conversation comes as Hamilton changes its approach to recreational marijuana.
Hamilton City Council voted in July to lift the city's ban on marijuana dispensaries and approve zoning rules allowing them to operate in certain areas.
Under the new rules, dispensaries cannot operate in Hamilton's Historic District and must be at least 1,000 feet from schools and child-care facilities. Cannabis businesses also have to go through the city's conditional-use process before opening.
Latta-Landefeld said she believes Hamilton made an important decision by considering the proximity of cannabis retailers to youth-serving organizations.
“One thing that they did, I really want to commend them on, is they put in rules that have to do with how close retailers can be to youth-serving organizations,” she said.
But she said Hamilton is not unusual in allowing recreational marijuana businesses.
Since Ohio legalized recreational marijuana for adults, Latta-Landefeld believes Hamilton's decision puts the city in line with the majority of municipalities across the state.
“Every township has an opportunity, every city has an opportunity to figure out what the environment looks best for their community,” Latta Landefeld said.
Hamilton's shift comes after years of debate. The city initially approved a temporary ban on recreational marijuana sales in December 2023 as Ohio's new adult-use marijuana law took effect.
'We've got to make sure we do this right'
For attendee Jay Gohman, the issue is ultimately about how legalization could affect young people.
“It's gonna be putting a burden on our young people, and we've got to make sure we do this right,” Gohman said.
That was the common thread throughout the evening: Regardless of how someone feels about recreational marijuana for adults, parents and young people need information about the products available today and where to find help.
The evening began with a resource fair featuring local prevention, mental health, recovery and youth organizations. Stack's presentation followed, along with a question-and-answer session.
Johnny's Ambassadors says its goal is to give parents, teens and communities tools to prevent youth THC use and intervene before substance use becomes a more serious problem.
For Stack, that work is rooted in what happened to her own family.
As Hamilton prepares for a new era of legal marijuana businesses, the conversation about how that change affects young people is only beginning.
