Teenage marijuana smokers with mental disorders are THREE times more likely to self-harm, study warns
- American researchers studied more than 200,000 teens with mood disorders
- Found that ten percent of these were diagnosed with ‘cannabis use disorder’
- This condition was linked to a 3.28 times higher risk of non-fatal self-harm
Teens with bipolar disorder or depression who smoke cannabis are at an increased risk of death and self-harm, a new study finds.
Mood disturbances in adolescence have long been associated with cannabis abuse and this addiction is now found to have a significant impact on mortality.
Researchers at Ohio State University found that teens with a mood disorder and cannabis habit are 3.28 times more likely to self-harm and 59 percent more likely to die from all causes.
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Researchers at Ohio State University in the US found that teens with a mood disorder and cannabis habit were 3.28 times more likely to self-harm and 59 percent more likely to die from all causes (stock)
The risk of death from an accidental overdose is 2.4 times higher than in people who avoid the drug, and the chance of being a victim of murder is 3.24 times higher, the study found.
“ Marijuana use and addiction is common in youth and young adults with mood disorders, but the association of these behaviors with self-harm, suicide and overall mortality risk is poorly understood in this already fragile population, ” said lead author Dr. Cynthia Fontanella.
“These findings should be viewed as states considering legalizing medical and recreational marijuana, both of which are associated with increased cannabis use disorder.”
The study, published in JAMA Paediatrics, assessed anonymous cases of more than 200,000 people between the ages of 10 and 24.
Cannabis use was observed in 21,040 teens with mood disorders, one in 10 of the study cohort.
The study used professionally grown cannabis plants that were carefully extracted and applied to models, and the researchers say their findings do not mean that smoking marijuana or using CBD oil provides any protection against Covid-19 (stock)
Cannabis abuse was more common in the elderly, as well as in black people and men.
During the seven-year observation period, the participants were also carefully studied to determine the prevalence of non-fatal self-harm, all-cause mortality, suicide, overdoses, car accidents and murders.
“We also found that cannabis use disorder was significantly associated with self-harm, including death from accidental overdose and murder,” said Professor Fontanella.
“While this observational study draws attention to these associations, unfortunately it cannot contribute to our understanding of causality or mechanisms.”
The researchers say that not only are young people with mood disorders more likely to use cannabis, but the drug may also worsen symptoms and interfere with treatments.
Lowering the rate of cannabis use and cannabis use disorders could reduce the risk, ” said senior author Professor Mary Fristad.
“Individual and family-based therapy models, including cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational therapy, have been shown to reduce cannabis use in young people.”
Nearly two-thirds of people in their mid-twenties have used illegal drugs in their lifetime
Nearly two-thirds of young adults in Britain have used an illegal drug at least once in their life, according to new research.
This figure is 22.2 percent higher than the official data from the Crime Survey England and Wales, which supports government policy.
Authors of the new analysis, from Bristol and Public Health England, say the illegality of illegal drug use means that measuring actual use is difficult and leads to underestimations.
Amphetamine is the most underreported drug, with the new study finding that nearly one in three (32.9 percent) of 24-year-olds have used the illegal drug.
This is a fourfold increase from the prevalence in the crime survey, which records only 8.1 percent.
Amphetamine was defined as including MDMA, but not ecstasy, which is itself taken by one in nine (11.1 percent) people in their mid-twenties.
Cannabis has been ingested by 60.5 percent of people, significantly higher than the lower estimate of 37.3 percent, the study found.
Data also shows that powdered cocaine was ingested by 30.8 percent of people, as opposed to the 13.9 percent touted by the Crime Survey.
Use of crack cocaine is the same for both studies, in only one percent of the population, while use of hallucinogens is up 11.3 percent to 18.1 percent of people in the Bristol study.
Opioid use was statistically higher and was taken by one in 20 people, while sedatives or tranquilizers were used by 11.6 percent of young adults, an increase from 8.1 percent.
Pictured: The percentage of Bristol survey respondents looking at how many people have ever used illegal drugs in their lifetime