Teenage marijuana smokers with mental health disorders are THREE times more likely to harm themselves, warns study
- U.S. researchers study more than 200,000 teens with mood disorders
- Ten percent of these have been found to have the diagnosis of ‘cannabis use disorder’.
- This condition is associated with the 3.28 times higher risk of non-fatal self-harm
Teenagers with bipolar disorder or depression who smoke marijuana are at increased risk for death and self-harm, a new shock has been found.
Mood disorders in adolescence have long been linked to dagga abuse and it has now been found that this addiction has a significant impact on the mortality rate.
Researchers from Ohio State University found that teens with a mood disorder and a cannabis habit are 3.28 times more likely to harm themselves and that 59 percent are more likely to die from all causes.
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Researchers from Ohio State University in the USA found that teenagers with a mood disorder and a cannabis habit are 3.28 times more likely to harm themselves and 59 percent more likely to die from all causes (stock)
The study found that the risk of death due to an unintended overdose is 2.4 higher than in people who avoid the drug.
‘Marijuana use and addiction are common among adolescents and young adults with mood disorders, but the association with this behavior with self-harm, suicide and overall mortality risk is poorly understood in this already vulnerable population,’ says lead author Dr Cynthia Fontanella.
“These findings should be seen as states considering legalizing medical and recreational marijuana, both of which are associated with an increased disorder for cannabis use.”
The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, assessed anonymous cases of more than 200,000 people between the ages of 10 and 24.
Cannabis use was observed in 21,040 adolescents with mood disorders, one in ten from the study group.
The study used cannabis plants that were professionally grown and carefully extracted and applied to models. According to the researchers, this means that smoking marijuana or using moderate oil offers no protection against Covid-19 (stock).
Cannabis abuse is more common in older people as well as black people and men.
During the seven-year observation period, participants were also thoroughly studied to determine the incidence of non-fatal self-harm, all-cause deaths, suicide, overdoses, car accidents, and homicides.
“We have also found that disorder for cannabis use is significantly associated with self-harm, including death by unintentional overdose and murder,” Professor Fontanella said.
“Unfortunately, although this observational study draws attention to these associations, it may not contribute to our understanding of causality or mechanism.”
The researchers say that young people with mood disorders are not only more likely to use marijuana, but that the drug can also worsen symptoms and affect treatments.
Reducing the rates of cannabis use and cannabis use can reduce the risk, ‘says senior author Professor Mary Fristad.
“Individual and family-based therapy models, including cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational enhancement therapy, have been shown to reduce cannabis use in adolescents.”
Nearly two-thirds of people in their mid-20s 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 lives, new research suggests.
This figure is 22.2 percent higher than the official data from the Crime Survey England and Wales which informs the government’s policy.
Authors of the new analysis, from Bristol and Public Health England, say the illegality of illegal drug use means that measuring the correct use is difficult and that it can be underestimated.
Amphetamine is the drug most commonly reported, and the new study found that nearly one in three (32.9 percent) of 24-year-olds used the drug illegally.
This is a fourfold increase in the incidence seen in the Crime Survey, which achieves only 8.1 percent.
Amphetamine was defined as MDMA, but not as ecstasy, which was taken by one in nine (11.1 percent) people in their mid-20s.
The study found that cannabis was taken by 60.5 percent of people, significantly higher than the lower estimate of 37.3 percent.
Data also show that powder cocaine was taken by 30.8 percent of the people, as opposed to the figure of 13.9 percent put forward by the Crime Survey.
The use of crack cocaine is the same for both surveys, only one percent of the population, while hallucinogens in the Bristol study increased by 11.3 percent to 18.1 percent of the people.
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, with 8.1 percent.
In the photo, the percentage of respondents to the Bristol study looked at how many people had taken illicit drugs at some point in their lives.