A recent study featured in the “Psychological Medicine” journal delves into the relationship between adolescent marijuana use and the development of psychotic disorders. The research indicates a significant increase in psychotic disorder risks during adolescence linked to marijuana use, a risk that is particularly pronounced with the stronger marijuana products available today. Interestingly, this increased risk does not extend into young adulthood.
Previous studies have suggested a link between youth marijuana use and psychotic disorders, noting a higher likelihood of such disorders among marijuana users. These earlier studies often relied on outdated data when marijuana was less potent and faced limitations such as small sample sizes and less clinically significant outcomes.
The recent study assessed the relationship between teenage marijuana usage and the likelihood of receiving a clinical diagnosis of a psychotic condition using more recent population-based statistics. The goal of the research was to bring the findings up to speed with the current increase in marijuana potency.
Data were drawn from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) between 2009 and 2012, linked with Ontario’s administrative health records. The study focused on Ontario residents aged 12 to 24 years of age. Those with incomplete medical records or a history of psychotic disorders were excluded, resulting in a final sample of 11,363 participants.
Information on marijuana use and other substance usage, along with sociodemographic details was collected through interviews conducted both by phone and in person. The follow-up ended in 2018 after a maximum of nine years of monitoring the participants. The analysis accounted for various confounding factors, including sex, age, race, other drug use and income.
Approximately 23.4% of respondents reported using marijuana in the past 12 months, and during the follow-up, 1.2% sought healthcare for psychotic disorders. The analysis revealed a significant association between psychotic disorders and recent marijuana use among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years of age, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 11.21. This was not found in young adults aged 20 to 33 years of age, who had an aHR of 1.29.
Subsequent analysis supported these results, demonstrating an aHR of 26.68 for adolescent cannabis users’ hospitalizations or doctor visits linked to psychotic illnesses. Additionally, a dose-response association was noted, with an aHR of 10.70 indicating that frequent marijuana use among teenagers was associated with a higher risk. An analysis focusing on gender revealed that this link, with an aHR of 9.98, was significant for teenage males.
Additionally, the study discovered a substantial correlation between cannabis usage in the year prior and the utilization of healthcare services for psychotic disorders in the past, indicating a possible reverse causal relationship.
The study’s strengths include the use of representative and high-quality data from the CCHS and linked health records, as well as a validated outcome measure and recent cannabis potency data. However, limitations include a single baseline assessment, self-reported marijuana use, and possible unmeasured confounding measures including family history, trauma and genetic predispositions.
These findings hold important implications for public policy and health, especially concerning the prevention of teenage marijuana use.
This elevated risk of adolescents developing psychosis when they use marijuana makes a strong case for allowing legal marijuana sales by licensed companies such as Green Thumb Industries Inc. (CSE: GTII) (OTCQX: GTBIF) in states because guardrails, including verifying the age of a product buyer, can be implemented to make it harder for teens to access marijuana.
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