{"id":3964,"date":"2022-01-31T11:04:09","date_gmt":"2022-01-31T11:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhcmllbnRpbWVzLmNvbS9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUvV2hhdC1EYXJpZW4tcGFyZW50cy1zaG91bGQta25vdy1hYm91dC1tYXJpanVhbmEtMTY4MTgxNjgucGhw0gEA"},"modified":"2022-01-31T11:04:09","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T11:04:09","slug":"what-darien-parents-should-know-about-marijuana-according-to-experts-darien-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=3964","title":{"rendered":"What Darien parents should know about marijuana, according to experts – Darien Times"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

DARIEN \u2014 With legal recreational marijuana coming to Connecticut, parents should be on the lookout for upward trends in substance abuse among Darien students, youth advocates and town officials warned.<\/p>\n

At a virtual forum last week, Darien Police Chief Don Anderson and a representative from the behavioral health group Liberation Programs talked to Darien parents about what to expect when the state\u2019s first legal cannabis dispensaries begin opening at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s mere fact that any substance, whether it\u2019s alcohol or cannabis, just weighs in on making choices that are not smart, with Major League consequences sometimes,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cI can, from firsthand experience, tell you I\u2019ve dealt with hundreds of young people here with serious issues with addiction over the course of my career. Some grave, some not so bad. Some outgrow it, some do not.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The forum was hosted by Darien\u2019s Thriving Youth Task Force, a coalition of youth leaders, which recently received a $625,000 grant from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to address rising mental health and substance issues among Darien\u2019s youth \u2014 something the group has been monitoring for years.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

While the town has been embroiled in a debate about whether or not to allow dispensaries in Darien, Anderson said location does not matter: The town\u2019s adolescents typically get illicit substances from Norwalk and Stamford anyway. New York City and Bridgeport are also sources for supply for marijuana, he said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the kids here in Darien are getting it from other kids in Darien,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cThey don\u2019t consider themselves a marijuana dealer, whether it\u2019s legal now or illegal like it was in the past. They go get a supply of marijuana for their own use. And they can sell off extra so they\u2019re basically getting their marijuana for free. That has never really changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Anderson and John Hamilton, the CEO of Liberation Programs, highlighted a recent rash <\/a>of fentanyl-laced marijuana incidents.<\/p>\n

Anderson called those incidents \u201cof concern.\u201d The Darien police department is equipped with Narcan, which reverses fentanyl overdoses, and are trained in administering the treatment, he said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Consequences in the legislation<\/h2>\n

Anderson talked about the stipulations of legal marijuana as written in state law, but stressed that children in possession of the substance will not face arrests.<\/p>\n

Those under 18 and in possession of under an ounce and a half of marijuana face written warnings and potential referral to Darien\u2019s Juvenile Review Board. Second offenses lead to mandatory referrals to the review board, but no arrest, and a third offense would be considered a delinquent act, Anderson said.<\/p>\n

Five ounces or more however, and children would be up before juvenile court.<\/p>\n

The second tier are individuals 18 to 21 years old, with first-time offenders having to pay fines if they are in possession of less than an ounce and a half of cannabis. Anything more, and they face lower-level misdemeanor charges and a court visit, Anderson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis law requires a super-decoder ring and a cheat sheet to really keep all the nuances of this law in place,\u201d Anderson said.<\/p>\n