{"id":108891,"date":"2026-02-27T08:02:45","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T16:02:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/?p=108891"},"modified":"2026-02-27T08:20:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T16:20:33","slug":"cannabis-regulation-kids-parent-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.seattleschild.com\/cannabis-regulation-kids-parent-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"Kids deserve federal and state pot regulations | Op-Ed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, I read an\u00a0opinion by the New York Times editorial board<\/a> that gave me pause and left me shaking my head in agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n

The editors pointed out that daily marijuana use in the U.S. has climbed from about six million in 2012 to nearly 18 million today, as has the number of people (youth and adults) with pot-related illness and marijuana-linked paranoia and chronic psychotic disorders.<\/p>\n

And another number has also risen. According to a 2023 study<\/a> published in the journal Pediatrics, the number of edible cannabis exposures among children under age 6 increased by about 1,375 % from 2017 (207) to 2021 (3,054). According to Washington Poison Center<\/a>, \u201cOne of the most common calls we receive about cannabis is little kids mistaking an edible for candy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bottom line for the NYT editors? They still support legalization. But their position has evolved, and they now say the feds need to step in \u2014 with a federal tax on pot, by restricting high THC and other harmful types of marijuana, and by \u201ccracking down\u201d on spurious and unproven health claims about weed.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Washington has been been forerunner in two of those three areas. In this state, pot is subject to a 37% cannabis excise tax along with regular sales tax (state + local), making Washington one of the heaviest taxing states for legal cannabis. And while the state does not limit THC concentration in marijuana flowers and concentrates, it does limit each edible \u201cserving\u201d to no more than 10 milligrams of THC. In fact, Oregon lawmakers are considering mirror legislation right now to prohibit the sale of individual edibles that have more than 10 milligrams of THC. According to a report<\/a> in the Washington State Standard last week, in 2023, children ages newborn to 5 made up one-third<\/a> of all cannabis-related cases reported to the Oregon Poison Center.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s good news when it comes to cannabis. Over the last decade, teen use rates have not risen in King County or Washington state. They have gone down by most measures. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)<\/a> reports declines in current cannabis use among King County students (grades 8\/10\/12) from 2008-2021; the Washington Department of Health\u2019s 2023 Healthy Youth Survey<\/a> notes youth substance use stayed mostly stable post-pandemic, with current cannabis use around 8% among 10th graders.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump supports states\u2019 rights to legalize pot. For once, I agree with him. If alcohol \u2014 despite its well-documented health and social harms \u2014 is legal and regulated, then marijuana should be treated the same way. I believe that added federal regulation of THC levels (my vote would be for lowering it to 5% in individual edibles), is an important next step and would go miles to discourage weed companies from creating new, stronger strains. Cannabis has gotten significantly stronger<\/a> over the last 20 years \u2014 cannabis growing is a business, and its bottom line is money, not addiction control.<\/span>\u00a0And yet, research shows<\/a> the newer strains of pot are addictive \u2014 and that most addiction begins with teen use.<\/p>\n

Cannabis companies don\u2019t care if a new strain is strong or addictive. They care about making money.<\/p>\n

For now, if you have cannabis at home, heed the poison center\u2019s warning, no matter how old your kids are: \u201cKeep your kiddos safe by always storing your stash up high, out of their reach, and locked up.\u201d<\/p>\n

TAKE ACTION:<\/strong> Do you have an opinion about whether the federal government should legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis?\u00a0Make your voice heard. Contact your members of Congress.<\/a><\/p>\n

This article is an opinion piece (Op-Ed) and reflects the views of the author. We encourage thoughtful debate and welcome a range of viewpoints. Readers who wish to submit their own Op-Ed for consideration can do so by emailing editor@seattleschild.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cannabis legalization worked \u2014 but now what comes next?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1182,"featured_media":108892,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,112],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCannabis regulation and kids: What parents should know<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Parents should understand how evolving cannabis laws impact families, safety, and federal regulation debates and what may change next.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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