“The perception is that marijuana is safe to use, but we need to educate parents and children that there are risks involved, especially with the use of heavy, high-potency cannabis,” said study author Cynthia Fontanella, professor assistant in the psychiatry and behavioral health department at Ohio State University School of Medicine.
“And doctors need to intervene to identify and treat cannabis use disorder, as well as children with mood disorders,” said Fontanella.
“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,” advises NIDA. About 4 million people in the United States met the diagnostic criteria for a marijuana use disorder in 2015, estimates NIDA.
First study in children
The new study used data from Ohio Medicare to identify cannabis use disorder and attempts at self-mutilation and outcomes in young people between the ages of 10 and 24. The study could only show an association between cannabis addiction and negative results, not a direct cause and effect.
Previous studies show that children with mood disorders are highly likely to use and abuse marijuana, Fontanella said, in part because they don’t like the side effects of many prescription drugs.
“Mood stabilizers and psychotic medications can cause weight gain, say, up to 30 or 40 pounds … stiff neck or eyes … and can cause sedation,” said Fontanella. “Therefore, they cannot use their medication and can self-medicate with cannabis to treat mood disorders.”
It may also be that the use of marijuana contributes to the development of mood disorders.
“Research shows that cannabis use is associated with early onset of mood disorders, psychosis and anxiety disorders, so it can lead to the onset of serious mental illness,” said Fontanella.
At this point, however, science is not sure which comes first, in part because few or no studies have been done on adolescents and young adults.
“Research suggests that exposure to marijuana affects the brain’s ability to process emotions. Could it interact deleteriously with the developing brain?” said Dr. Lucien Gonzalez, who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on substance use and prevention. Gonzalez was not involved in the study.
“It doesn’t prove that cannabis use causes depression or self-mutilation, but it also doesn’t definitively refute it,” said Gonzalez, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine.
“It looks like there are complicated associations and we still don’t fully understand them,” said Gonzalez.
Although science solves the answers, “family-based models and individual approaches, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy”, have been effective in treating young people with marijuana use disorder, said Fontanella and his team. They also asked for the launch of a national study to examine in more detail the mortality risks for young people and young adults who struggle with weed overuse.