Teens are three times more likely to develop marijuana addiction than adults

UPI ^ | JULY 6, 2022 | Dennis Thompson

[nickcarraway]

In yet another report that illustrates the dangers pot poses to the young, developing brain, a new British study finds teenagers are much more likely than adults to develop an addiction to marijuana.

"We found that teenagers are three and a half times more likely to have severe cannabis use disorder, which is essentially cannabis addiction," said lead researcher Will Lawn, a lecturer in addiction psychology with King's College London. "That's a very important harm which teenagers should be informed of."

However, marijuana use did not appear to cause any other harms to the teenage brain, his team found.

"Teenagers were not more vulnerable to associations between cannabis and depression, anxiety or psychotic-like symptoms, nor were they more sensitive to the associations with cognitive impairment in memory or impulsivity domains," Lawn said.

The problem will likely worsen: As pot has been legalized in more U.S states, teen use has risen roughly 20%, one California study suggested.

For this latest study, Lawn and his colleagues recruited 274 people, including 76 teenagers (aged 16 and 17) who used pot one to seven days per week. Cannabis users in the study toked up four days a week, on average.

All participants filled out questionnaires commonly used to assess symptoms of mental health problems, and the teenagers' responses were compared to adult pot users as well as both teens and adults who used pot very little or not at all.

The participants filled out questionnaires in five separate sessions over 12 months.

The researchers had suspected that pot might have serious detrimental effects on the teenage brain, since development in important brain regions is still going on at that age.

The same brain receptors that respond to THC -- the chemical in pot that causes intoxication -- are involved in brain development, "so you would be more likely to see negative impacts on mental health and cognitive function," Lawn said.

The investigators found that half the teens in the study had six or more symptoms for cannabis use disorder, which qualified them as having a severe disorder.

The results make sense, given what is known about brain development, said Linda Richter, vice president of prevention research and analysis for the Partnership to End Addiction.

"The brain adapts to the presence of the drug as it's developing, making addiction to marijuana as well as to other addictive substances more likely during this life stage," Richter said.

"Compounding the risk is that the parts of the brain that are more fully developed in adolescence are those responsible for seeking out new experiences and being influenced by one's peers, but the parts that are not yet fully developed are those responsible for controlling impulses and reining in risky or potentially harmful behaviors," she added.

"That's why early use of marijuana significantly increases the risk of substance use problems. In fact, use at a young age is one of the strongest predictors of developing addiction to the drug," Richter continued.

Parents should be aware of this addiction risk and have a frank discussion with their teens about it, Richter and Lawn said.

"Many parents still believe that the marijuana that teens are using today is no more harmful than the marijuana they may have smoked when they were teenagers. But the potency of marijuana has quadrupled over the past couple of decades and the concentration of THC is far higher in today's products, especially in vapes and edibles, than it was in the past," Richter said.

"Parents should inform themselves about the ways kids use marijuana, the unique risks of edibles and vapes, the fact that driving after using marijuana or with someone who has used is dangerous, and the fact that it's hard to know the THC dose and what contaminants might be in marijuana products," Richter stressed.

The new study was published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

[ifinnegan]

Why do you think they call it dope.

I remember that one.

It’s true.

[TribalPrincess2U]

Can’t stop laughing!

They know to what gender they want to change.

In fact they know every damn thing! Again, can’t stop laughing!

[CatHerd]

From the article: “However, marijuana use did not appear to cause any other harms to the teenage brain, his team found.”

Horse hockey.

It’s thought that while cannabis does not cause schizophrenia in those who do not have a genetic predisposition, it can “set it off” in those who do. It’s still debated, granted, but it does at least appear that cannabis use triggers psychotic episodes in those genetically at risk for schizophrenia:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01330-w

And what about lowered IQ in teens who become heavy users early on, or regular users during their teen/young adult years? And what about other neurocognitive effects?

Persistent cannabis users show neuropsychological decline from childhood to midlife:

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1206820109

Impact of adolescent marijuana use on intelligence: Results from two longitudinal twin studies:

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1516648113

Smoke weed regularly in your teens (even the milder 1970s stuff), lose 8 IQ points (does not affect adults the same way):

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/healing-addiction/202007/does-cannabis-decrease-iq

Pot is not a totally harmless substance. If adults want to mess with it, fine. Lots of adults pickle their livers and brains by abusing alcohol. But it looks to be quite harmful to developing brains. And our brains continue to develop into our mid twenties, so ...

[Karliner]

I think I was addicted when a teen. What stopped me? College math, responsibilities, and martial arts. Can’t do weed and martial arts. I suppose some can, but not me.

Tried some weed about ten years ago and was so danged strong I got absolutely paranoid.

[Trailerpark Badass]

No kidding?

[jimfree]

A time for developing coping skills spent in a trance. Yep.

[Born in 1950]

“Why do you think they call it dope. I remember that one. It's true.”

Good memory! Bad punctuation, though, lol, JK.

Would you share, when you first heard that true one, who were the “you” and who were the “they?”

Cool that you know this stuff!

[philman_36]

There's a lot wrong in this article, but this canard takes the cake.

But the potency of marijuana has quadrupled over the past couple of decades and the concentration of THC is far higher in today's products, especially in vapes and edibles, than it was in the past," Richter said.

Cannabis potency is established through raids and seizures.
That cannabis is tested and, yes, today's seized cannabis is stronger
because most of the cannabis seized these days isn't low THC ditch weed.
Better weed is sold so the potency, based on seizures, is naturally going to go up.

The claim being made is a ruse.

...cannabis samples seized by the DEA...

[Osage Orange]

I’m about to smoke pot again......with all this carp going on.

[philman_36]

One more...

That's why early use of //marijuana\\ significantly increases the risk of substance use problems.

Relativism

More precisely, “relativism” covers views which maintain that—at a high level of abstraction—at least some class of things have the properties they have (e.g., beautiful, morally good, epistemically justified) not simpliciter, but only relative to a given framework of assessment (e.g., local cultural norms, individual standards), and correspondingly, that the truth of claims attributing these properties holds only once the relevant framework of assessment is specified or supplied.
The "relevant framework of assessment" is set and specified.

That's why early use of marijuana alcohol significantly increases the risk of substance use problems.

That's why early use of marijuana tobacco significantly increases the risk of substance use problems.

That's why early use of marijuana pain medication significantly increases the risk of substance use problems.

[philman_36]

...with all this carp going on.

Typo or not, that's funny either way!

[FlingWingFlyer]

Of course they are. That’s why the RAT politicians are pushing so hard to let them “vote.” Little high bass turds will vote for commie RATS every time.

[nickcarraway]

Marijuana is a religion, not a drug. Users of alcohol or cocaine, etc. will allow you to criticize those drugs. Marijuana users feel about marijuana like Muslims feel about Allah. You must never criticize it. It is perfect like Allah, and can do anything.

[nickcarraway]

Use of marijuana significantly increases the risk of voting for socialism.

[LouAvul]

Now, now. We can't be saying things like that on FR cause our resident dirtbag libertarians will swarm on and extol the mystical virtue of all narcotics.

Let that be a lesson to you. /s

[philman_36]

WOW. That’s some grade A hyperbole there.

[nickcarraway]

LOL You have been proving my point.

[nickcarraway]

LOL You have been proving my point.

[philman_36]

You have been proving my point.

What point is that?