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Last updated: 7 months ago

Teens Who Use Marijuana Face Higher Risk of Psychotic Disorders

Many recent studies link cannabis use in adolescents to psychotic disorders and other mental health issues. This research indicates a higher risk level related to the fact that the brain is still growing and developing in adolescence and the teenage years. Studies also suggest that the rise in potency of marijuana today is also a factor.

Our Kids are at Particularly High Risk

At Sanctuary Clinics, we are seeing the patients represented in these studies coming through our doors in increasing numbers and frequency. A such, we are sounding the alarm and shedding light on the dangers of marijuana use in teens.

The association between early and heavy use of cannabis while your brain is still developing, and a higher occurrence of psychosis is well established. And even though several studies verify this risk, the Biden administration continues to push rescheduling cannabis from a Schedule I drug to a less risky Schedule III drug. Cannabis is already legal in 22 states for recreational use and 38 states for medical.

As cannabis is being medicalized, decriminalized, and legalized in state after state, the message people are getting is that weed is safe. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Teens Who Use Marijuana Face Higher Risk of Psychotic Disorders

Studies Show a Link

A study by the University of Toronto found teenagers who used cannabis had an 11 times higher risk of developing a psychotic disorder than teenagers who did not use it. When they analyzed just E.R. visits, there was a 27-fold increase in instances in the people who used it. This study also found enough evidence to recommend teens wait to use cannabis until they are older, and their brains are further developed.

Another 2023 study published in Psychological Medicine found one in three seniors in high school reported using marijuana within the last year. This study surveyed 11,363 participants between the ages of 12 and 24. Subjects were followed up on for nine years. Some of the categories tracked included doctor and E.R. visits and hospital admissions. Of the subjects who had a psychotic disorder treated in the hospital or E.R., about 83% of them had used marijuana. The potency of the marijuana used was not considered in this study, although increased risk with higher potency was found in previous research. These findings should be strongly considered for public health, cannabis use prevention among teenagers, and increasingly looser cannabis laws.

A study conducted by Columbia University found one in ten adolescents (2.5 million) in the U.S. used marijuana casually. One in 40 (600,000) suffered from marijuana addiction. Adolescents who used marijuana casually and didn’t have a substance use condition were two to four times more likely to form psychiatric disorders than adolescents who didn’t use it.

The Columbia University study also found using marijuana can cause adolescents to be at risk for unwanted behaviors like grades slipping in school, truancy, and brushes with the police. In addition, when teens in the study used cannabis casually, they were two to two and a half times more prone to mental health issues, while those with cannabis disorder were three and a half to four and a half more likely to have the same issues than those who didn’t use cannabis at all.

Teens Who Use Marijuana Face Higher Risk of Psychotic Disorders

These findings bear repeating:

  • Adolescents who used marijuana casually were two to four times more likely to form psychiatric disorders than adolescents who didn’t use it.
  • Teens who used cannabis casually were two to two-and-a-half times more prone to mental health issues.
  • Teens with a cannabis use disorder were three-and-a-half to four-and-a-half times more likely to have the same issues than teens who didn’t use cannabis at all.

Most concerning, adolescents and teens feeling these mental health side-effects often increase their marijuana use hoping to feel better, when in reality, they are actually making their condition worse.

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Why are Teens More Susceptible to Cannabis-induced Psychotic Disorders?

Research indicates teens are at especially high risk. One theory about why they are more susceptible is because marijuana disrupts the endocannabinoid system in the brain—this is your brain’s signaling system. In teenagers whose brains are still developing, disruption of this signaling system can make it more difficult to discern reality, which can lead to psychotic breaks, delusions and hallucinations.

Marijuana also alters your cerebral cortex (the center of executive function and reasoning) which poses significant risk to younger brains that are not yet mature. Teens who regularly use marijuana are found to have issues with problem-solving, memory, and thinking at a much higher rate than teens who do not use marijuana. Marijuana use also leaves developing brains more susceptible to other types of addictions as they mature.

The results are in. The numbers don’t lie. The dangers are real. And yet, we continue to talk about cannabis (on the local and federal levels) as if it’s harmless. Talk to the parents who are sitting helplessly in the ER with their psychotic child. Talk with the parents whose teenager suffers with a cannabis use disorder, isolated in their rooms, gaming and surfing the internet all day. We can no longer bury our heads in the sand.

Marijuana use in teens can become a life-long problem. If you know a young person who needs help getting off cannabis, take this seriously. Please reach out for help today.

Get Help Today.

We are here to help you through every aspect of recovery.
Let us call you to learn more about our treatment options.

We are here to help you through every aspect of recovery. Let us call you to learn more about our treatment options.

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