A recent study shows increased issues in mental and emotional health challenges in youth who frequently use marijuana and with a year of legalization of recreational cannabis in Illinois, that has a central Illinois mental healthcare professional very concerned.

Tony Kirkman is the Executive Director of the Piatt County Mental Health Center and Tuesday morning on the WHOW Morning Show told Regional Radio News a recent study shows youth who frequently use marijuana saw a deterioration of mental health at the same time.

According to Kirkman, the last part of the brain to develop is the prefrontal-cortex which deciphers reasoning, risk, and impulsivity among many other crucial functions. He says this is concerning for our youth who use marijuana frequently given its side-effects.

As the State of Illinois rakes in record amounts of money from legalized pot sales and its commitments to funneling that money into positive outlets, a frustration from Kirkman recently has been the lack of distributing that money to places like his office.

With increased access to legal cannabis in Illinois, Kirkman would like to see increased educational efforts towards youth and the impacts it can have. He says kids do not respond to scare tactics in education so he believes they need to be confronted with facts and data.