“The perception is that marijuana is safe to use, but we need to educate parents and children that there are risks, especially with high- and high-potency cannabis use,” the study author said. , Cynthia Fontanella, adjunct professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral health at Ohio State University School of Medicine.
“And doctors need to step in to identify and treat the cannabis use disorder, as well as children with mood disorders,” Fontanella said.
“People who start using marijuana before the age of 18 are four to seven times more likely to develop a marijuana use disorder than adults,” NIDA advises. Approximately 4 million people in the United States met the diagnostic criteria for a marijuana use disorder in 2015, according to NIDA.
First study in children
The new study used data from Ohio Medicare to identify both cannabis use disorder and attempts and self-harm outcomes in 10- to 24-year-olds. The study could only show an association between cannabis dependence and negative outcomes, not a direct cause and effect.
Previous studies show that children with mood disorders are very likely to use and abuse marijuana, Fontanella said, in part because they don’t like the side effects of many prescription drugs.
“Mood stabilizers and psychotic medications can cause weight gain, for example up to 30 or 40 pounds … stiffness in the neck or eyes … and can cause sedation,” Fontanella said. “Therefore, they may not use their medication and may self-medicate with cannabis to treat mood disorders.”
However, it may also be that the use of weeds may contribute to the development of mood disorders.
“Research shows that cannabis use is associated with the early onset of mood disorders, psychosis and anxiety disorders, so it can lead to the onset of serious mental illness,” he said. Fontanella.
At this point, however, science is not sure what the first thing is, in part because few studies have been conducted on adolescents and young adults.
“Research suggests that exposure to marijuana affects the brain’s ability to process emotions. Could it interact in a harmful way with the developing brain?” said Dr. Lucien González, who chairs the committee on substance prevention and use at the American Academy of Pediatrics. González did not participate in the study.
“It doesn’t prove that cannabis use causes depression or self-harm, but it doesn’t definitively refute it,” said Gonzalez, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine.
“It seems like complicated associations are found and we still don’t fully understand them,” González said.
While science resolves the answers, “family-based models and individual approaches such as cognitive-behavioral therapy” have been effective in treating young people with marijuana use disorders, Fontanella and his team said. They also called for the release of a national study to further examine mortality risks for young people and young adults struggling with overuse of weeds.