On Friday, David Packhem spoke on the perils and current challenges of addiction and the work of the nonprofit: S.E.E.D “Students Empowered to End Dependency.” Inspired and called to action when confronted with a family addiction issue, David and his wife started this work to engage young people by involving other young people to talk about addiction and the resources available for help. S.E.E.D works with youth in high schools, Long Creek, and other facilities across the state to increase awareness on the dangers of using drugs and alcohol. David introduced his co-presenter Jay, who works with S.E.E.D statewide to share his addiction story and how he has been sober for two years and ten months. Jay’s story is portrayed in an engaging and powerful video. "The Cannabis Deception" trailer. In addition, if you want to see other videos from S.E.E.D. of varying lengths and topics, visit this link.

 

David shared that 95% of individuals with addiction issues start as teenagers. The primary reason is that the brain of a teenager is not fully formed and when drugs are introduced, the brain learns and maps to the stimulus, which encourages more use of the drug and eventually the search for the high. As a clear example, David discussed the problem with the current state of marijuana. In the past, when one smoked a joint, the average percentage of THC was 2-4%; today, with the new products and delivery systems plus the refinement of marijuana to increase strength, users are getting a much greater percentage of THC. In addition, the new delivery devices obscure how much you are actually taking in, which increases the high and the chance of becoming addicted. David explained the new products are similar to the way crack cocaine replaced cocaine powder. These new stronger strains are greatly increasing the addiction rate. To David, marijuana is clearly a gateway drug. The new products addict youth faster than prior generations and this leads to a search for better highs, which leads to more dangerous substances.

 

In looking at trends, David shared that nationally, there are now more daily users of marijuana than daily users of alcohol. On the effects of addiction, Maine has approximately 10,000 overdoses annually. That number represents about 2,000 individuals. Of those overdoses, approximately 600 people die annually. David’s concern is that the number of individuals overdosing does not seem to decrease even with treatment and deaths. David estimates that Maine is creating 1,000 new addicts who overdose annually. The continued increase in persons using drugs appears to be due to the potency of the products available. David’s hope is that with increased awareness of the addiction risks of the new products, efforts like those of S.E.E.D can help teenagers understand the dangers of smoking and using marijuana. David believes that having youth talk with youth is an effective model and he hopes to continually expand his work. Photo: Patty and David.

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