“The perception is that marijuana is safe to use, but we need to inform parents and children that there are risks involved, especially with the use of large cannabis products,” said author Cynthia Fontanella, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry. , said. behavioral health at the Ohio College of Medicine.
“And clinicians need to intervene to identify and treat 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 recommends. Approximately 4 million people in the United States met the diagnostic criteria for a marijuana use disorder in 2015, NIDA estimates.
First study in children
The new study used Ohio Medicare data to identify both cannabis use disorder and attempts at self-harm and outcomes in young people between the ages of 10 and 24 years. The study could only show a link between cannabis dependence and negative outcomes, not a direct cause and effect.
Previous studies show that children with mood disorders are more likely to use and abuse marijuana, Fontanella said, in part because they do not like the side effects of many prescribed medications.
“Mood stabilizers and psychotic medications can cause weight gain, say up to 30 or 40 pounds … stiffness of their neck or eyes … and it can cause sedation,” Fontanella said. “So, they may not use their medication and may use self-medication with cannabis to treat mood disorders.”
However, it may also be that the use of weeds can 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 severe mental illness,” Fontanella said.
At this stage, however, science is not sure which comes first, in part because little or no studies have been done in teens and young adults.
“Research suggests that exposure to marijuana affects the brain’s ability to process emotion. Can it interact with the developing brain in a harmful way?” says Dr. Lucien Gonzalez, who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drug Use and Prevention. Gonzalez was not involved in the study.
“It does not prove that cannabis use causes depression or self-harm, but neither does it conclusively refute it,” said Gonzalez, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
“It seems like complicated associations are being found, and we do not quite understand them yet,” Gonzalez said.
While science sorts out the answers, ‘family models and individual approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy’ have been effective in treating adolescents with marijuana use disorder, Fontanella and her team said. They also called for the implementation of a national study to further investigate the mortality risks for young people and young adults struggling with weed overuse.