Cannabis poisoning among teens skyrockets since NY legalization: ‘Not your Woodstock weed’

Teen pot use is exploding in New York after years of decline — just three years after the Empire State legalized marijuana in 2021, new statistics show.

Nearly one in five kids under 21 now report using cannabis, according to a New York Impact Report released Thursday by from Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

Marijuana poisoning cases have skyrocketed 56% among New Yorkers under 19, from 649 in 2021 to 1,104 cases in 2023, a 70% jump, according to data from the National Poison Data System cited in the report.

As many as 95% of the poisoning cases in teens involved edibles.

The grim numbers are in direct contrast to claims from legalization proponents that the move would make communities safer.

“We have a record number of young people using marijuana on a regular basis. We have record numbers of hospitalizations because of poisonings from these edibles. And our lawmakers don’t seem to have a plan,” slammed Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

Sabet’s group is advocating for what it calls “common sense” measures, including warning labels, limiting the number of edibles and weed gummies sold, and more information about THC levels in products.

“The THC levels are off the charts. This is not your Woodstock weed; today’s marijuana is so much stronger than it ever has been. We learned how to genetically breed it to be so much stronger,” Sabet explained.

“We’ve become better farmers, essentially. And so, today’s marijuana is genetically altered to increase the THC levels to get you high.”

Legalizing pot hasn’t put the kibosh on unlicensed dope dens, either. A legal loophole has enabled pot peddlers to stay in business, despite cops’ efforts, along with the state’s attempts to close the legal loophole.

The shocking report estimated the 2024 number at a staggering 3,000, compared to just 275 legal bud stops.

“Nothing’s being done to stop this,” slammed mom Kathleen Kelley, who lost her 17-year-old son, Nico, in 2023, after he took one hit from a potency-packed joint bought at an unlicensed city shop.

“We have these smoke shops all over the place where 17-year-olds, 15-year-old olds, who knows how old can walk in there and buy these things.”