Oklahoma Education and You

If the proverb about training a child and Jesus’ warning about causing children to stumble are true, then Oklahoma committed a near-mortal sin by legalizing marijuana in 2018. Promoted as medical marijuana, most proponents knew from other states’ experiences that it was essentially recreational legalization.

Marijuana affects the teenage brain in both short-term and long-term ways because the brain is still developing through the teens and into the mid-20s. THC, the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana, acts on brain systems involved in memory, learning, attention, judgment, coordination, and emotion.

In the short term, teen marijuana use can cause:

• worse attention and concentration
• poorer memory and learning
• weaker problem-solving and decision-making
• slower reaction time and coordination.

That is why it can hurt school performance. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says teen marijuana use is linked to problems with school and social life, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) notes that attention, memory, and learning problems can last days or even weeks after use, especially with frequent use.

With frequent or heavy use, the concerns are bigger. The National Institute on Drug Abuse and the American Academy of Pediatrics say adolescent marijuana use may interfere with normal brain development and is associated with higher risks of marijuana use disorder, mental health problems such as psychosis in vulnerable people, and poorer educational outcomes.

Six years into this “experiment,” my main argument is that it has had negative outcomes for kids. Oklahoma’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey showed current marijuana use among public high school students rose from 14.9 percent in 2021 to 19.1 percent in 2023. It may be higher in 2026.

As a school administrator and teacher, I’ve watched marijuana use and possession on school grounds increase since legalization. Before 2018, it was rare for students in the schools where I worked to arrive high or bring marijuana onto campus. After 2018, such incidents became more common. From my observations, the stigma around drug use also diminished among students, creating a widespread sense that marijuana use is not a significant issue.

It’s notable that Governor Stitt called for a state question to repeal medical marijuana. He has considerable experience working with the Oklahoma legislature and likely recognizes the challenges they face in addressing this issue on their own. Submitting the question to the people could provide a fresh start. Hopefully, the legislature considers drafting a state question to let Oklahomans weigh in on this matter.