After a decade of cannabis being legalized for recreational use among adults, scientists are struggling to provide evidence-based recommendations regarding the risks faced by youth.
Study on Drug Use Among Adolescents
Krista Lisdahl has been studying cannabis use among adolescents for two decades, and what she sees raises concerns about her teenage son.
She says, “I see the incoming data, and I know he will be exposed to it.”
As a clinical neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she sees many young people who have been exposed to the drug to varying degrees, from using it once at a party to using strong preparations of it daily. These experiences have become more common with the intensified efforts to legalize cannabis for recreational use worldwide. In some studies she has conducted, about one-third of adolescents who use cannabis regularly show signs of cannabis use disorder – meaning they cannot stop using the drug despite its negative effects on their lives. However, she wants more definitive evidence when it comes to talking about the drug and its risks to youth, including her own son.
Changing Patterns of Use
Medical cannabis has been legalized in some parts of the United States since 1996, but Colorado and Washington were at the forefront of legalizing recreational use when the issue was put to a public vote in 2012. Uruguay was the first country to legalize the sale of the drug for recreational use the following year. There were concerns that legalization would lead to an increase in teenage users, but so far, this does not seem to be the case, according to Angela Bryan, a neuroscientist at the University of Colorado Boulder. “Ironically, cannabis legalization has caused a decrease in its use among teenagers,” she says, at least in her state.
A series of biennial surveys conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment found that cannabis use among students aged 14 to 18 dropped from a steady rate of about 21% from 2005 to 2019 to 13% in 2021. National usage patterns appear to show a similar decrease, with one study linking it to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health Effects
High-potency preparations carry higher risks of inducing psychosis, and some researchers fear that this could have long-term effects. “What scares the medical community is the link between cannabis and schizophrenia,” according to Ryan Sultan, a clinical psychiatrist at Columbia University in New York City. A study of more than 40,000 people with schizophrenia in Denmark, where cannabis has been legalized since 2018, found that about 15% of cases could be linked to cannabis use disorder, with this figure being much higher in youth.
However, it is not clear whether the link in Denmark is causal or not, according to Carsten Hjordtveit, an epidemiologist at the University of Copenhagen who led the work. It may be that individuals with schizophrenia seek cannabis for self-medication. Similar issues exist in clarifying relationships between cannabis and depression and anxiety, but the associations are present.
In a study conducted by Sultan on nearly 70,000 adolescents in the United States, he found that about 1 in 40 were addicted to cannabis. Others used cannabis but did not become addicted. Even in this group, youth were twice as likely to experience depressive episodes along with other negative outcomes, such as skipping school and getting lower grades than non-users, and being arrested.
What Happens in the Brain?
Cannabis works by mimicking the body’s natural cannabis-like neurotransmitters, which can activate a small set of receptors in the brain. “It mimics this system, but it tricks the system,” Lisdahl says, because high-potency THC products stimulate the receptors much more than everyday activities do.
While
When it comes to teenagers, one of the main concerns is THC’s ability to easily bind to a receptor called CB1. These receptors are found throughout the brain, but are particularly common in areas associated with reward and executive functions – which include memory and decision-making. CB1 is more abundant in the brains of teenagers than in adult brains.
Researchers are trying to see how continued cannabis use, especially products with high concentrations of THC, can affect mental health or cognitive function. Madeline Meyer and her colleagues analyzed the impact of cannabis use during adolescence on a group of about 1,000 people born between 1972 and 1973. They found that those who used cannabis regularly scored lower, on average, on intelligence tests compared to those who used cannabis less frequently or not at all. This effect was more pronounced in individuals who began using cannabis during adolescence.
Meyer says her work suggests that infrequent cannabis use in adolescence does not lead to significant cognitive decline. But she adds, “It’s enough to warrant caution in its use.” The bigger problem, for her, is that people who start using it during adolescence are at greater risk for long-term use.
What happens in the brain?
Cannabis works by mimicking the natural cannabinoid neurotransmitters in the body, which can activate a small group of receptors in the brain. “It mimics this system, but it tricks the system,” says Lisdal, because high-potency THC products stimulate the receptors much more than everyday activities do.
When it comes to teenagers, one of the main concerns is THC’s ability to easily bind to a receptor called CB1. These receptors are found throughout the brain, but are particularly common in areas associated with reward and executive functions – which include memory and decision-making. CB1 is more abundant in the brains of teenagers than in adult brains.
Researchers are trying to see how continued cannabis use, especially products with high concentrations of THC, can affect mental health or cognitive function. Madeline Meyer and her colleagues analyzed the impact of cannabis use during adolescence on a group of about 1,000 people born between 1972 and 1973. They found that those who used cannabis regularly scored lower, on average, on intelligence tests compared to those who used cannabis less frequently or not at all. This effect was more pronounced in individuals who began using cannabis during adolescence.
Meyer says her work suggests that infrequent cannabis use in adolescence does not lead to significant cognitive decline. But she adds, “It’s enough to warrant caution in its use.” The bigger problem, for her, is that people who start using it during adolescence are at greater risk for long-term use.
What happens in the brain?
Cannabis works by mimicking the natural cannabinoid neurotransmitters in the body, which can activate a small group of receptors in the brain. “It mimics this system, but it tricks the system,” says Lisdal, because high-potency THC products stimulate the receptors much more than everyday activities do.
When it comes to teenagers, one of the main concerns is THC’s ability to easily bind to a receptor called CB1. These receptors are found throughout the brain, but are particularly common in areas associated with reward and executive functions – which include memory and decision-making. CB1 is more abundant in the brains of teenagers than in adult brains.
Researchers are trying to see how
Researchers are looking to see how the continuous use of cannabis, especially products with high concentrations of THC, might affect mental health or cognitive function. Madeline Meyer and her colleagues analyzed the impact of cannabis use during adolescence on a group of approximately 1,000 individuals born between 1972 and 1973. They found that those who used cannabis regularly scored lower, on average, on intelligence tests compared to those who used cannabis less frequently or not at all. This effect was more pronounced in individuals who started using cannabis during adolescence.
Meyer says her work suggests that infrequent cannabis use during adolescence does not lead to a significant cognitive decline. However, she notes, “It’s enough to urge caution in its use.” The bigger issue for her is that individuals who begin using it during adolescence are at greater risk for long-term use.
What happens in the brain?
Cannabis works by mimicking the natural cannabinoid neurotransmitters in the body, which can activate a small group of receptors in the brain. “It mimics this system, but it fools the system,” says Liesdal, because high-potency THC products stimulate the receptors much more than everyday activities.
Regarding teenagers, one of the main concerns is THC’s ability to easily bind to a receptor called CB1. These receptors are found throughout the brain but are particularly common in areas associated with reward and executive functions—including memory and decision-making. CB1 is more abundant in the brains of adolescents than in the brains of adults.
Researchers are looking to see how the continuous use of cannabis, especially products
Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-cannabis-bad-for-teens-data-paint-a-conflicting-picture/
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