Tag: legalization

Cannabis and Human Trafficking: Modern Slavery

Some Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCO), with direct ties to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), engage in human trafficking to staff their cultivation sites for workers in the United States. These victims of human trafficking are often deceived by traffickers with promises of good work and money by tending plants in the United States. Once […]

California Marijuana Impact Report – 2025

This product was a joint effort by the California based HIDTA Regional initiatives to provide data and information regarding cannabis in California and its impacts to matters of public health and public safety. In addition to information on potency, use rates, traffic fatalities, and other public health data, this report also highlights the recent increase […]

Chinese Nationals & Illicit Marijuana in America

In the United States, there has been an increase in illicit cannabis trafficking by some individuals or organized groups with ties to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) that represents a multi-billion dollar a year criminal enterprise. How much of that money is directed back to the PRC is unclear. These Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) […]

Cannabis & Driving: You Feel Different – You Drive Different

Results of a recent highway safety study involving cannabis revealed that the majority of those who use cannabis elect to drive that same day, even when use was as recent as 60 minutes (or less) prior to the act of driving. Cannabis use in America has outpaced alcohol consumption in recent years, it impacts to […]

Cannabis Use: Impairs Both Memory & Brain Function

“Evidence supported that both recent and heavy lifetime cannabis use were associated with diminished brain activation and cognitive performance during working memory.” These are the findings of a recent study released in the January 28, 2025, edition of JAMA Network Open, (Gowin, J. et. al.). This study examined data for over 1000 adults, ages 22 […]

Legalization Linked to Increased Cannabis Use Disorders & Poisonings

The legalization of cannabis for medical and commercial adult use has been associated to “significant increases” in cannabis use disorders (CUD) and cannabis poisonings (CP) when compared to non-legalized states. The authors of this study, Jayawardhana, J. (et.al.), researched national patient records (N=110,256,536), from 2011 to 2021, with diagnoses of a CUD or CP, by yearly […]

Monthly cannabis use rates are now greater than alcohol use

When comparing daily use rates of cannabis to daily alcohol consumption, cannabis users are now 7.4 times more likely to engage in daily use compared to alcohol drinkers. Self-reported cannabis use, in the last 30 days, was nearly 4 times higher than alcohol usage for the same metric. From 1992 until 2022, the reported frequency […]

Cannabis, Teens, and Poor Academic Outcomes

Teens who use cannabis are at a greater risk for poor academic performance, such as being absent from school, or dropping out of school. This new study released October 7, 2024, in JAMA pediatrics, also suggests that cannabis use during adolescence can lower grades, decrease later enrollment into universities and potentially impact unemployment rates after […]

Midwest Impact Report, 2024

Post author By admin
Post date August 27, 2024
Categories In Impact Reports

The Midwest HIDTA’s seven-state area consists of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the three Illinois counties of Madison, Rock Island, and St. Clair. The region spans over 428,000 square miles, encompasses 73 HIDTA-designated counties, and is considered the largest of the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s 33 HIDTA regions. It […]

Health Risks: Rolling Papers with Hazardous Chemical Elements

Recent research supports the health risks of marijuana use due to the presence of heavy metals and other chemical elements found in the plant. Now the same health warning, extends to the use of rolling papers, also contaminated with chemical elements, primarily for color. Of the 26 chemical elements found in rolling papers during the […]