NEWBERRY — Zooming around the track is great for NASCAR drivers, but not so much for someone under the influence. Recently, many local college students found this out first-hand as Westview supported marijuana education events at Newberry College and Piedmont Tech by letting student “drive” its Fatal Vision Roadster while wearing marijuana goggles.

As Newberry County’s nonprofit provider of addiction prevention, treatment and recovery services, Westview has an important responsibility, and is uniquely qualified, to comment on the effects of marijuana use, which they see every day among the people they serve.

Last year, almost half of Westview’s clients were diagnosed with some level of marijuana abuse. That’s more than any other drug but alcohol. And it’s understandable that the numbers are so close, given that the effects of marijuana on the brain are more similar to alcohol than tobacco.

Many people wrongly believe that marijuana is like tobacco since the two are often smoked. Like alcohol though, marijuana can affect your:

• Ability to think and solve problems.

• Coordination.

• Reaction time.

• Judgment.

• Memory.

• Mood.

According to Westview, they know marijuana is dangerous to many users and addictive to some, and that young people are particularly vulnerable. Marijuana use among our adolescent clients is more prevalent than among adult clients.

The effects of marijuana can be even more serious in young people.

“If you’re a young person and you’re using regularly, there’s a whole host of problems that can occur,” said Kevin Hill, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Substance Abuse Consultation Service at McLean Hospital.

Regular marijuana use during the teen years has been linked to:

• Lower IQ.

• Changes to areas of the brain involved with learning, memory, and attention.

• Anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.

• Dropping out of school.

• Worse performance in college.

While the debates over legalization continue, many young people view marijuana as less risky, and not surprisingly, more and more of them are smoking marijuana for the first time. Early use of marijuana is especially troubling. The human brain develops throughout adolescence and well beyond, into the mid-20s. Marijuana use can harm learning, thinking and memory development and can contribute to mental health issues, not to mention medical problems.

“There’s a much higher risk in people whose brains are developing — those 25 and under,” said Hill.

We also know the earlier a young person starts to use any mood and mind altering substance, the greater the possibility of developing addiction. One of the recurring themes we hear from the youth we treat is regret – of wasted time, lost opportunities, squandered talent, impaired memory, reduced performance and disinterest in healthy activities.

To make matters worse, marijuana is often laced with fentanyl, which is a powerful synthetic opioid similar to morphine, but 50 to 100 times more potent.

Fentanyl is just one of a family of opioid drugs. Many opioids are legal and safe when used as prescribed, but often they are made and used illegally. And opioids themselves can be laced with fentanyl, too, making them much more deadly.

Opioids are pain-relieving drugs that attach to opioid receptors in your brain. Your brain then releases signals that muffle your perception of pain and boost your feelings of pleasure.

Opioid misuse, addiction, and overdoses are serious public health problems in the United States. Another problem is that more women are misusing opioids during pregnancy. This can lead to babies being addicted and going through withdrawal, known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Opioid misuse may sometimes also lead to heroin use because some people switch from prescription opioids to heroin.

The main treatment for prescription opioid addiction is medication-assisted treatment (MAT). It includes medicines, counseling, and support from family and friends. MAT can help you stop using the drug, get through withdrawal, and cope with cravings. There is also a medicine called naloxone which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and prevent death if it is given in time.