A new study reveals that teens who recreationally use cannabis are two to four times more likely to develop psychiatric disorders and engage in problem behaviors, such as poor academic performance and trouble with the law. Even casual use of cannabis is associated with long-term negative outcomes, affecting the mental health, behavior, and potential development of adolescents.
Adolescents who engage in recreational cannabis use are two to four times more prone to developing psychiatric disorders compared to teenagers who abstain from using cannabis altogether.
New research from Columbia University, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, suggests that teenagers engaging in recreational cannabis use are two to four times more prone to developing mental health issues like depression and suicidality compared to their peers who refrain from cannabis use entirely.
The study also revealed that even infrequent usage of cannabis can put teens at risk for problematic behaviors. These include poor academic results, school absenteeism, and legal issues, all of which may potentially hinder their long-term development and prevent them from realizing their full potential as adults.
“Perceptions exist among youth, parents, and educators that casual cannabis use is benign,” said Ryan Sultan, MD, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia and lead study author. “We were surprised to see that cannabis use had such strong associations with adverse mental health and life outcomes for teens who did not meet the criteria for having a substance use condition.
The study, he said, is the first to identify that subclinical, or non-disordered, cannabis use—symptoms and behaviors that do meet the criteria for a clinical disorder—has clear adverse and impairing associations for adolescents.
1 in 10 youth recreational users
To conduct their research, Dr. Sultan and colleagues analyzed responses from a representative sample of respondents to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual survey to collect data on tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs, and mental health. The cross-sectional study included approximately 70, 000 adolescents between the ages of 12-17.
The researchers found that more than 2.5 million U.S. teens—or about 1 in 10–were casual cannabis users. More than 600,000 teens—roughly 1 in 40—met the criteria for cannabis addiction. To be considered addicted, an individual must meet at least two of 11 criteria, which include an inability to reduce consumption, constant cravings, and relationship and social problems.
Additionally, non-disordered cannabis users were 2-2.5 times more likely to have adverse mental health outcomes and behavioral problems, compared to teens who didn’t use cannabis. Teens with an addiction to cannabis were 3.5 to 4.5 times more likely to have these issues.
Immature brain regions put teens at elevated risk
Numerous studies note that cannabis use can alter the development of the cerebral cortex, the brain’s center of reasoning and executive function, posing a risk to young people whose brains have not matured. Marijuana use in adolescence is associated with difficulty thinking, problem-solving, and reduced memory, as well as a risk of long-term addiction.
“Exposing developing brains to dependency-forming substances appears to prime the brain for being more susceptible to developing other forms of addiction later in life,” said Frances R Levin, MD, the Kennedy-Leavy Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia and senior study author.
Dr. Levin, who directs Columbia’s Division of Substance Use Disorders, said mental health problems and cannabis use are closely linked. “Having depression or suicidality may drive teens to use cannabis as a way to relieve their suffering,” she said. “Concurrently, using cannabis likely worsens depressive and suicidal symptoms.”
Growing legalization of recreational cannabis
The researchers said the findings are particularly concerning given the popularity of cannabis as states have moved to make the drug legal. As of April 2023, 22 states have legalized recreational marijuana. Thirty-eight states allow the use of medical marijuana.
This raises questions if the criteria used for establishing a diagnosis of a substance use disorder need to be re-evaluated for youth, Dr. Sultan said who is also the medical director of Integrative Psych, where he specializes in substance use disorder treatment.
“While teenage cannabis use is illegal, even in states with legalized cannabis, there are little to no true protections for teens, such as educational campaigns,” he added. “Federal legalization offers the opportunity to address those safeguards.”
The researchers are continuing this work by evaluating if adolescents’ casual use of nicotine and alcohol by adolescents also demonstrates adverse and impairing effects on brain function, mental health, and long-term addiction.
Reference: “Nondisordered Cannabis Use Among US Adolescents” by Ryan S. Sultan, Alexander W. Zhang, Mark Olfson, Muhire H. Kwizera and Frances R. Levin, 3 May 2023, JAMA Network Open.
DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.11294
These studies seem a bit ridiculous as people have been smoking weed for thousands of years. You are either genetically predisposed to be more depressed or not. Trying to blame weed without taking into the effect of social media, and the difficulty of being a teen now, and life in general seems like a copout. There would have been hundreds of thousands of more suicides if weed was the actual link.