Adolescents who use cannabis could face a significantly higher risk of developing serious psychiatric disorders by young adulthood, according to a large new study published today in JAMA Health Forum. The longitudinal study followed 463,396 adolescents ages 13 to 17 through age 26 and found that past-year cannabis use during adolescence was associated with a significantly higher risk of incident psychotic (doubled), bipolar (doubled), depressive and anxiety disorders.

The study analyzed electronic health record data from routine pediatric visits between 2016 and 2023. Cannabis use preceded psychiatric diagnoses by an average of 1.7 to 2.3 years. The study’s longitudinal design strengthens evidence that adolescent cannabis exposure is a potential risk factor for developing mental illness.

Unlike many prior studies, the research examined any self-reported past-year cannabis use, with universal screening of teens during standard pediatric care, rather than focusing only on heavy use or cannabis use disorder.

The study also found that cannabis use was more common among adolescents enrolled in Medicaid and those living in more socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods, raising concerns that expanding cannabis commercialization could exacerbate existing mental health disparities.

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[–] Hegar@fedia.io 98 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Cannabis use was more common among: ... Youth on Medicaid or living in more deprived neighborhoods

Regular reminder that correlation =/= causation. Living a more stressful life due to poverty makes both mental illness and adolescent cannabis use more common.

That said there is a credible biological pathway to cannabis use having a causal role:

THC acts on CB1 receptors, which are highly expressed in the adolescent brain and play a key role in emotional regulation, motivation, and cognitive development.

However we still don't have definitive evidence of causation:

Q: Does this study prove cannabis causes mental illness? A: While causation can’t be definitively established, cannabis use was associated with an increased risk of developing psychiatric conditions

[–] protist@mander.xyz 35 points 6 days ago (8 children)

Additionally, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are both heritable conditions, and if a parent or grandparent has one of these diagnoses, the family is significantly more likely to also be experiencing poverty or other adverse events, which in turn makes it more likely that the predisposed child will develop the inherited condition.

[–] reabsorbthelight@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago

The author's used statistical control methods for socioeconomic factors.

Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to measure the strength of associations between adolescent cannabis use and incident psychiatric diagnoses, with adjustments for sex, race and ethnicity, neighborhood deprivation index, insurance type, and time-varying alcohol and other substance use.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2845356

[–] Dozzi92@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I used to smoke a lot of weed in high school and after for a bit. One day, the panic set in. It wasn't always, but the frequency definitely increased slowly, until eventually the risk of having a panic sesh became too much for me to be able to enjoy smoking.

Kind of unrelated and in the middle of all this, I remember talking to my old man, and he had lived a similar life to the one I was, at the time, currently leaving. He smoked a bunch of weed until, one day, couldn't do it any longer because of the panicks.

So I definitely anecodotally agree with the ineritableness, and I certainly agree and am an example of the idea that cannabis can bring out symptoms similar to schizophrenic episodes. And they are so far from my norm that I really can't attribute it to anything but the pots.

I've always felt that mental disorders can be like a switch, you flip it and it turns on, kinda. And the flipping can be the result of something external, life events, trauma, and drug and alcohol use. I had a friend who I smoked with often as a kid who eventually kinda disappeared into a world of mental issues, and I wonder if it would've been the same had he not smoked.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 4 days ago

He smoked a bunch of weed until, one day, couldn’t do it any longer because of the panicks.

But the weed he smoked was 10X less potent.

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[–] hoshikarakitaridia@lemmy.world 17 points 6 days ago

That is exactly what I was wondering.

And it gets even more complex, because suppose you have these mental conditions - your threshold for taking medicine and / or drugs is probably lower.

So right now there's still a good chance causation can be inverse.

That said, very important to take these studies seriously. No one should care about being right, it will always be about getting it right.

[–] SineSwiper@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Classic case of using cannabis as a scapegoat in a random study to "prove" how harmful it is. Tale as old as time.

[–] theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 15 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (7 children)

"I don't like the result of this study so its random and wrong."

Lol. Lmao even. What was that about tales as old as time?

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[–] Hegar@fedia.io 12 points 6 days ago (3 children)

I lean toward that interpretation but am open to being wrong.

I work in mental health and was surprised by the amount of people in the field who believe marijuana is part of the problem, not just a symptom of it.

[–] foodandart@lemmy.zip 15 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

As someone that came out of a CSA victim position, most everyone I knew that was using in High School - the girls most of all - were dealing with similar issues.

Whether it was low-key sexual assault - being groped, or pressured to "put out" or even family friends or relatives, (in my own case it was "Uncle Touchy" in 1978, when I was 13.. He was 34, hairy, chicken-chested and gross and thought he was God's Gift to women..) in the late 70's / early 80's there was a lot of sexual abuse that was part of the landscape for girls "growing up".

Much of it came out of the social norms of the time - the fallout of the "swinging" 70's where it was all about sex. 24/7 sex, preferrably with 14 year olds, as that was the age in which the consensus was that there was something wrong with you if your cherry hadn't been popped.. Just a dreadful era, honestly.

The pot use was to numb the pain and forget what they'd gone through. I chose not to forget.. and got stoned anyhow.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 4 days ago

This is precisely the kind of situation that is re-entrenched by blaming the problem on weed.

That's the real danger of pseudo-scientific articles like this.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 4 days ago

I work in mental health and was surprised by the amount of people in the field who believe marijuana is part of the problem, not just a symptom of it.

I've been in mental health institutions and it's amazing how many people will blame drugs in order to completely ignore the deep life/social problems that people face.

That's basically the whole point of the mental health industry. They turn social problems into druggable, profitable, "medical" problems - while also undermining any movements for social progress.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 days ago

Any "high", from alcohol, pot, asphyxia, oxygen, etc., is neural dsyfunction.

The police roadside sobriety test is identical to a clinical ataxia test.

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[–] reabsorbthelight@lemmy.world 7 points 4 days ago (1 children)

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2845356

I think this is the study. They controlled statistically for a variety of factors that various people in this post are assuming had interactions.

Also, the author's are from a variety of reputable universities and institutions in California.

Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to measure the strength of associations between adolescent cannabis use and incident psychiatric diagnoses, with adjustments for sex, race and ethnicity, neighborhood deprivation index, insurance type, and time-varying alcohol and other substance use.

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[–] gibmiser@lemmy.world 37 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Not the news people want to hear. Seems like a pretty large study, too.

[–] hydroptic@sopuli.xyz 43 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Yeah I'm sure the "cannabis is completely harmless" crowd will have normal reactions to this

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 8 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I thought that this is just confirmation of other studies? We knew that it exacerbates underlying mental conditions, especially in those underage.

I don't think I have met the crowd you refer to.

[–] T156@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I thought that this is just confirmation of other studies? We knew that it exacerbates underlying mental conditions, especially in those underage.

It pretty much is, though I think this study is unusual in that it suggests that the effect may be independent of socioeconomic factors.

Though the authors do admit that there may be a bidirectional link at play, which is quite interesting, and relatively novel, off the top of my head. You're at higher risk for schizophrenia or psychosis if you use marijuana, but you're also more likely to use marijuana if you're at higher risk for schizophrenia or psychosis. A lot of prior studies established the links individually, but didn't combine them.

I don't think I have met the crowd you refer to.

There are a few dotted throughout this thread, laying the blame on other things than the hasis.

[–] Peehole@piefed.social 9 points 6 days ago (1 children)

But where is the study? Maybe this is my bad but I couldn’t actually find the paper that explains the methodology, nor could I find in which journal this is published and if this got peer reviewed?

[–] XiELEd@piefed.social 14 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

I think it's the blue word that says "Study ." below the link.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2845356

[–] Peehole@piefed.social 10 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Ah yeah thank you! Im used to stuff like SSRN where you can’t miss the link

[–] MuteDog@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

I don't think it should come as any sort of surprise that people who already have an underlying mental health issue would attempt to self-medicate as a teenager.

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 28 points 6 days ago (5 children)

Yes. Children should not use harder/recreational drugs

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[–] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 21 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Study of age 13-17yo kids, but the thumbnail is of a 7 year old rip master, who’s monster bong loads are phatter than all those teens.

[–] VeganBtw@piefed.social 13 points 6 days ago

You made me think that it would be an absolute cosmic joke if we discovered that the effects of cannabis on children under 13 were, paradoxically, incredibly positive. Imagine all the privileged parents being like : "I'm making sure he's vaping THC all day, I want him to have opportunities!"

[–] AdolfSchmitler@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

I mean in general if you drink or do any drugs (caffeine and pre-workout included) before you're like 18 is probably not going to be good for you.

[–] Tedesche@lemmy.world 11 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Jesus Christ, so many ignorant people in this thread trying to question the scientific data with nothing but their own fee-fees about the politics of cannabis legality and capitalism. So much for this being a science forum.

[–] duncan_bayne@lemmy.world 7 points 5 days ago

More anecdata of my own here ... but I've observed that a good number "pro-science" people abandon the science when it ceases to suit their politics.

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[–] Staff@piefed.world 13 points 6 days ago (3 children)

This just confirms what psychiatrists already knew for a long time. Cannabis use accentuates the probability of mental illnesses.

[–] protist@mander.xyz 13 points 6 days ago (2 children)

More specifically, for someone who has a genetic predisposition to developing schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, cannabis use will make it more likely that you yourself will develop that condition. If you have someone in your family with schizophrenia or bipolar, you would do well to avoid cannabis use, especially as a teenager or young adult.

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[–] MetalSlugX@piefed.social 6 points 6 days ago

Thank you for making this remark, this is not new information.

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[–] leftist_lawyer@lemmy.today 11 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Did the study account for confounding variables like ... capitalism?

[–] T156@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

They did. One of the variables they statistically controlled for in the study is the "neighbourhood deprivation index", which represents socio-economic living factors.

[–] kablez@lemmy.world 13 points 6 days ago

Much easier to blame the individuals for their choices than to look at the system abusing them.

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[–] MetalSlugX@piefed.social 7 points 6 days ago (1 children)

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2845356

[–] Peehole@piefed.social 5 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Thank you.

Maybe someone can tell if this is peer reviewed and if this is actually published in a reputable journal and also what’s the agenda of the institutes funding this.

Lot to ask I guess but I have 0 clue about this field and don’t really know how seriously I should take this

[–] thinkercharmercoderfarmer@slrpnk.net 13 points 6 days ago (4 children)

It's the journal of the American Medical Association, it's a peer reviewed journal and it's as reputable as scientific journals come. the author affiliations are listed at the top of the article if you click the dropdown:

There's a real link between cannabis use and some mental illnesses, this isn't the first paper to make that connection. What that connection is and whether cannabis use among children is causing mental illness is still AFAIK an open question. There are, according to my psychiatrist, conflicting data on whether cannabis makes depression worse or better. It seems to help for me, so I continue to use it with their supervision and advice, but I also know people who quit cannabis and felt better as a result, so I think if you use it and have one of these illnesses, it's worth running your own trials to determine whether it's helping or hurting.

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