Karma Clarke, a Douglas County mother, thought marijuana was harmless in 2014 when she voted in favor of the ballot measure legalizing recreational cannabis in Oregon.
She believed that until six years later, when her then-20-year-old son began smoking marijuana regularly.
He had played sports and maintained good grades in college, but when he returned home after completing his associate degree, Clarke said her son began acting strangely. He stopped leaving his room, and he lost the ability to perform everyday tasks such as reading a tape measure or answering questions.
After several doctor visits, her son was admitted in two different psychiatric hospitalizations. Although his drug tests came back clean, something had switched in his brain, she said.
Clarke shared her story of witnessing her son develop a psychotic disorder at a virtual meeting Wednesday, where state Sen. Lisa Reynolds, D-Portland, invited her and public health experts to speak about policy proposals aimed at preventing youth access to cannabis.
“I’m hoping that the cannabis industry will take the lead, and they’ll decide they don’t want to be like the tobacco industry and they don’t want to keep denying that there’s a link between their products and people’s lives being ruined,” Clarke said.
Reynolds looks to THC caps again, and more warning labels
Recreational cannabis has been legal in Oregon for adults 21 and older for more than a decade, but it remains illegal for minors. Still, an estimated 13,000 youth between ages 12 and 18 use cannabis in Oregon, according to Dr. Julia Dilley, a Multnomah County epidemiologist who led a 10-year study looking at cannabis legalization and public health impact in Oregon and Washington.
Reynolds, a pediatrician who has served in the Legislature for five years, is seeking to improve cannabis prevention education in schools, cap individual edibles at 10 milligrams of THC and require manufacturers provide more warning labels on their products.
Reynolds’ efforts are inspired by her work as a pediatrician, and because she believes her brother’s habitual marijuana use in the ’70s contributed to his severe mental health problems as an adult.
Teens using cannabis are at 11 times higher risk of developing a psychotic disorder compared to teens not using cannabis, studies show.
“When we talk about the risk of psychosis, this isn’t just what we would call a bad experience while you are actually intoxicated by cannabis,” Reynolds said. “This is a long-term disability.”
Additionally, more children are turning up in hospitals after consuming edibles resembling desserts such as brownies or cookies.
She spearheaded legislation earlier this year to cap individual edibles at 10 milligrams of THC. Her bill made it past the Oregon Senate, but it died in the committee process on the House side as members received intense pushback from marijuana industry groups. Reynolds said she’ll propose the legislation again, but this time with the help of a lobbyist.
The Cannabis Industry Alliance of Oregon did not immediately respond to the Capital Chronicle’s request for comment.
Oregon is one of the most loosely regulated marijuana states
More than 800 calls since 2025 to the Oregon Poison Center were related to cannabis, said Dilley, the Multnomah County epidemiologist. One-third of those calls were for children younger than 5.
Cannabis use among youth is higher in Oregon than it is in Washington and California because it doesn’t have the same protective measures as those states, she said.
Oregon has no caps on how much THC a single edible or package can contain, unlike neighboring Washington and California where individual edibles are capped at 10 milligrams per serving and 100 milligrams of THC per package.
Unlike Oregon, it’s illegal to grow nonmedical marijuana at home in Washington. Washington also caps the number of retail cannabis outlets, applies a 37% sales tax and it requires cannabis businesses to be located at least 1,000 feet away from certain locations including schools and playgrounds.
Oregon does not have any of these regulations, and its sales tax ranges from 17% to 20%, depending on where it’s bought.
Oregon does require warning labels on cannabis products related to pregnancy. These labels are working and preventing people from using cannabis during pregnancy, Dilley said, adding that Oregon could go a step further at providing more warning labels about cannabis use contributing to worse mental health outcomes.
“These products should not be designed or marketed to appeal to children,” pediatrician Dr. Jill Pearson said. “Yet, time and time again, we are just repeating Joe Camel, Big Tobacco and all the things all over again to addict the next generation.”
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