Cannabis Developing – By Kisean Joseph
Cannabis Developing Mind Regional
Medical professionals from across the region are sounding a unified alarm about the dangers of cannabis use among young people — warning that while the substance carries a comparatively low risk of fatal overdose, its impact on the adolescent brain can be severe, lasting, and in some cases irreversible.
The warning came from two physicians at opposite ends of the spectrum — one a regional authority, and the other an Antiguan doctor on the ground.
Dr Jerrol Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Medicinal Cannabis Authority and a specialist in internal medicine and infectious diseases, drew a clear distinction between cannabis and harder narcotics, noting that the parts of the brain governing respiratory and cardiac function contain very few cannabinoid receptors — meaning an overdose of cannabis is unlikely to be fatal in the way that opioids or cocaine can be.
That distinction, however, offers no comfort for younger users. Dr Thompson warned that adolescents whose brains are still developing face a markedly elevated risk when exposed to high concentrations of THC — the primary psychoactive component in cannabis.
According to the doctor, children as young as 11 or 12 who carry a family history of mental illness — including bipolar disorder or psychosis — can be pushed into acute psychotic episodes through prolonged high-THC use.
He also pointed to a broader shift in how mainstream medicine is beginning to view cannabis — noting that conditions such as sleep disorders, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, once considered outside the scope of cannabis treatment, are now increasingly regarded as areas where it can form part of standard care.
That regional perspective strongly resonates with Dr Hanybal Yazigi, chief of oncology at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Center, and an assessor with the Medicinal Cannabis Authority of Antigua and Barbuda, who spoke to Observer media in an exclusive interview.
Dr Yazigi confirmed that self-medication with black market cannabis is something he is seeing among patients in Antigua and Barbuda — and he was direct about why that is cause for serious concern.
He explained that black market cannabis and medicinal cannabis are fundamentally different entities, carrying entirely different health risks. Without regulatory oversight, he said, there is no way to know what chemicals have been introduced during cultivation or preservation, whether the product contains mold, or what the cannabinoid profile of the product is.
“The cannabinoid profile is very important in terms of deciding when to use it, what pathologies to use it for,” he said.
He was particularly pointed to the danger of self-medicating for psychological conditions. According to Dr Yazigi, patients dealing with anxiety, depression, or related illnesses who use cannabis without medical supervision, risk making their condition significantly worse rather than better.
On the question of young people, Dr Yazigi said the situation arises all too frequently. His advice to parents who suspect a child is using cannabis was to resist the impulse to react with alarm — and instead to start with a conversation.
“Build a relationship with their child where they’re able to have these conversations openly,” he said, adding that a loss of composure often leads to trust breaking down between parent and child at precisely the moment when communication matters most.
Beyond the conversation at home, Dr Yazigi said parents can contact the Medicinal Cannabis Authority, which can facilitate a consultation with one of its physicians. Where the underlying cause is depression, identity struggles, or other psychological concerns, a referral to a psychologist may also be appropriate.
He warned that the notion that cannabis is safe because no one has ever overdosed on it is a deeply flawed one, particularly for children and adolescents. Research, he said, suggests that high-THC cannabis use before the ages of 21 to 25 can lower IQ, impair logical reasoning, alter personality, and contribute to reduced motivation — effects that worsen the younger the user is.
“It is very dangerous to use high-content THC because of the impact on neural development,” he said.
Both doctors agreed that education — rather than prohibition alone — remains the most effective tool for addressing misuse, and that the medical community has a central role to play in equipping both patients and parents with the information they need.
