Is there an association between cannabis use disorder, non-disordered cannabis use, and adverse mental health events in adolescents? There is, according to a new cross-sectional study of more than 68,000 teenagers.

The study examined the risk differences in psychological events between cannabis use disorder (CUD) and non-disordered cannabis use (NDCU). reported news medicine. It also compared both groups to non-users or those who denied ever having used marijuana, or at least in the past year.

Cannabis use disorder is defined as continued use of cannabis despite its negative effects on one’s life and health. CUD affects about 10% of the 193 million cannabis users worldwide. Non-disordered cannabis use (NDCU) refers to non-use of cannabis.

What did the researchers find out?

Summary of the study

For this study, published in the Jama network openedNine adverse psychosocial events were considered: major depressive episode (MDE); slowed thinking; suicidal thoughts (SI); face difficulty concentrating; Truancy, ie, skipping school for > 1 day in the last month; arrest for involvement in illegal activities, involvement in fights; physical aggression, ie attack with intent to harm; and low grade point average (GPA), ie C+ or below (ie < 80%).

Researchers extracted a nationally representative sample using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) for a 4-year period (from 2015 to 2019), including adolescents (12-17 years).

Study Highlights

• NDCU was almost four times more common than CUD;
• There was a striking correlation between adolescent NDCU and all nine adverse psychological events;
• Cannabis users are more likely to have a major depressive episode and suicidal thoughts;
• Researchers also found that young adults often turned to marijuana to improve their depressed mood, but continued use appears to make it reversible;
• Adolescents in NDCU and CDU groups were more likely to show cognitive…