“The perception is that marijuana is safe to use, but we need to educate parents and children about the risks involved, especially with heavy and vigorous cannabis use,” said study author Cynthia Fontanella, an assistant professor in the psychiatry and behavioral health department. from the Ohio State University College of Medicine.
“And clinicians need to intervene to detect and treat both cannabis use disorder and children with mood disorders,” said Fontanella.
“People who start using marijuana before the age of 18 are four to seven times more likely to develop marijuana use disorder than adults,” advises NIDA. About 4 million people in the United States met the diagnostic criteria for a marijuana use disorder in 2015, the NIDA estimates.
First study in children
The new study used Ohio Medicare data to identify both the cannabis use disorder and the attempts and outcomes of self-harm in young people between the ages of 10 and 24. 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 appreciate the side effects of many prescription drugs.
“Mood stabilizers and psychotic drugs can cause weight gain, say 30 or 40 pounds … stiffness in their neck or eyes … and it can cause sedation,” Fontanella said. “So they can’t take their medication and can self-medicate with cannabis to treat the mood disorders.”
However, it is also possible that the use of cannabis can contribute to the development of mood disorders.
“Research shows that cannabis use is associated with the early onset of mood, psychosis and anxiety disorders, so it can lead to the development of serious mental illness,” said Fontanella.
At this point, however, science isn’t sure which comes first, in part because few, if any, studies have been done in teens and young adults.
“Research suggests that exposure to marijuana affects the brain’s ability to process emotions. Could this interact in a harmful way with the developing brain?” said Dr. Lucien Gonzalez, who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on substance use and prevention. Gonzalez was not involved in the investigation.
“It doesn’t prove that cannabis use causes depression or self-harm, but it doesn’t definitively disprove it,” said Gonzalez, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
“There seem to be complicated associations to be found, and we don’t fully understand them yet,” Gonzalez said.
While science has the answers, “family models and individual approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy” have been effective in treating young people with marijuana use disorder, Fontanella and her team said. They also called for the rollout of a nationwide study to further investigate mortality risks for adolescents and young adults who suffer from excessive cannabis use.