The Basics
Underage use of marijuana is harmful.
In Montana, marijuana is illegal for people under 21.https://thinkfirstmontana.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Think-First-Montana-Marijuana-Is-Harmful-6-Second-Video-HQ.mp4
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Marijuana is also called pot, weed, or cannabis.
- Marijuana flower is a green, brown, or gray mixture of dried, shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the Cannabis sativa plant.
- It goes by many different names, including: pot, herb, bud, weed, and grass.
- This form of marijuana is usually smoked.
- All forms except topical marijuana are mind-altering (psychoactive).
Marijuana concentrates (extracts)
- Marijuana concentrates are made by extracting potent cannabinoids (a type of chemical in marijuana that causes drug-like effects all through the body) from the cannabis plant.
- Marijuana concentrates are found in different forms and go by many different names, including: hash oil, tinctures, dabbing, dabs, shatter, CO2 oil, BHO, wax, budder, honey, honey oil, honeycomb oil, crumble, sap, and pull-and-snap.
- They are usually consumed by vaporizing (vaping) the product.
- All forms except topical marijuana are mind-altering (psychoactive).
- Edibles are food products (like cookies, brownies, drinks, and other snack foods) infused with marijuana.
- Eating marijuana can be very dangerous. This is because while the effects of smoking or vaping marijuana begin after only a few minutes, the effects of eating marijuana might not begin for 1-3 hours. Because the effects take longer to begin, a user may consume larger amounts of the drug while thinking the drug isn’t working. This can lead to overdose of marijuana.
- All forms except topical marijuana are mind-altering (psychoactive).
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Active chemicals
- THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is the main active chemical in marijuana. It’s what causes a person to feel high.
- Marijuana is becoming more and more potent, meaning there’s more THC.
- For frequent users, exposure to high doses of THC on a regular basis can increase the risk of addiction.
- For a new user, marijuana with high levels of THC can increase the chance of a bad or unpredictable reaction.
- These effects of marijuana can include psychotic episodes (where you lose touch with reality and think something’s happening that really isn’t), hallucinations (seeing things that aren’t really there), extreme paranoia (fear of people or things around you that aren’t actually able to harm you), panic attacks, and impaired coordination.
- Another active chemical in marijuana is CBD (cannabidiol). CBD does not produce a high or lead to addiction.
- Marijuana products (including CBD) are being marketed as treatments for many conditions for which there is insufficient or no evidence of their safety or effectiveness.
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Medical use
Marijuana has not been approved as medicine
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not recognized or approved marijuana as medicine but has approved two medicines containing synthetic (meaning human made or not from a plant) marijuana in pill form.
Montana Medical Marijuana Card
- For minors (under age 18) in Montana, doctors can authorize using marijuana for medical purposes if a patient has a debilitating medical condition.
- Minors may only use marijuana products and may not smoke marijuana.
- Minor applicants (under age 18) will need their guardians to provide documentation of legal guardianship.
- Marijuana has risks whether it is used for “medical” or “non-medical” purposes.
There is a lot of information about marijuana. Some is accurate, and some is not. You can use these questions to understand what you hear about marijuana.
Where does this
information come from?
The information comes from experts we trust, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. They have experts study tough issues, reach consensus based on the evidence, and provide independent and objective information. They have no financial interest in the information (they aren’t trying to sell anything to you).
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Knowing where information comes from helps you understand the motive behind it.
Why are we telling you this?
There is a lot of information out there, and it can be confusing. You might be getting mixed messages about marijuana, including inaccurate claims from your peers and from the media. We want you to understand some basic knowledge about marijuana so that you can make healthy choices.
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Asking this helps you understand how the source of the information is trying to influence you.
How do you know
it’s accurate?
This information is based on the conclusions of multiple studies – each of which was reviewed by several researchers not involved in the study. Using multiple studies that have been reviewed by other researchers decreases the chances of errors. This is the most accurate information available at this time.
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Asking about accuracy helps you avoid inaccurate or misleading information.
Read next
Use in Montana
Laws
