Depression among young teens linked to cannabis use at 18
Seattle-focused study suggests earlier intervention with depressed youths could reduce rate of cannabis-use disorder
July 17, 2017
Science Daily/University of Washington Health Sciences/UW Medicine
A study looking at the cumulative effects of depression in youth, found that young people with chronic or severe forms of depression were at elevated risk for developing a problem with cannabis in later adolescence.
The study led by UW Medicine researchers interviewed 521 students recruited from four Seattle public middle schools. Researchers used data from annual assessments when students were ages 12-15 and then again when they were 18. The results were published in the journal Addiction.
"The findings suggest that if we can prevent or reduce chronic depression during early adolescence, we may reduce the prevalence of cannabis use disorder," said lead author Isaac Rhew, research assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
What researchers called "a 1 standard deviation increase" in cumulative depression during early adolescence was associated with a 50 percent higher likelihood of cannabis-use disorder.
According to researchers, during the past decade cannabis has surpassed tobacco with respect to prevalence of use among adolescents. Cannabis and alcohol are the two most commonly used substances among youth in the United States. They pointed to one national study showing increases in prevalence of cannabis use disorder and alcohol use disorder in the United States, especially among young adults.
Longitudinal studies looking at the link between depression and later use of alcohol and cannabis, however, have been mixed. Some show a link. Others don't. But most studies have assessed adolescent depression at a single point in time -- not cumulatively, said the researchers. Further, there have been differences in how substance use has been measured ranging from the initiation of any use to heavier problematic forms of use.
The study oversampled for students with depressive and/or conduct problems. The researchers were surprised to see that the prevalence of cannabis and alcohol use disorder in this study was notably higher than national estimates with 21 percent meeting criteria for cannabis use disorder and 20 percent meeting criteria for alcohol use disorder at age 18.
What effect the easing of marijuana laws in Washington state had on the youth is unclear. Researchers said it would be informative to conduct a similar study in a state with more strict marijuana laws to understand whether the relationship between depression and cannabis misuse would still hold in areas where marijuana may be less accessible.
The age 18 substance abuse assessments occurred between 2007-2010. Washington state legalized medical cannabis in 1998 and its medical cannabis market expanded greatly after 2009 when the federal justice department issued a ruling known as the Ogden Memo. And in 2003, the city of Seattle made cannabis offenses the lowest enforcement priority for police and the city attorney.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170717151031.htm
Why does prenatal alcohol exposure increase the likelihood of addiction?
July 7, 2017
Science Daily/University at Buffalo
One of the many negative consequences when fetuses are exposed to alcohol in the womb is an increased risk for drug addiction later in life. Neuroscientists in the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions are discovering why.
Through a research grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Senior Research Scientist Roh-Yu Shen, PhD, is studying how prenatal alcohol exposure alters the reward system in the brain and how this change continues through adulthood.
The key appears to lie with endocannibinoids, cannabis-like chemicals that are produced by the brain itself.
"By understanding the role endocannibinoids play in increasing the brain's susceptibility to addiction, we can start developing drug therapies or other interventions to combat that effect and, perhaps, other negative consequences of prenatal alcohol exposure," Shen says.
Prenatal alcohol exposure is the leading preventable cause of birth defects and neurodevelopmental abnormalities in the United States. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) cause cognitive and behavioral problems. In addition to increased vulnerability of alcohol and other substance use disorders, FASD can lead to other mental health issues including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety and problems with impulse control.
"After the prenatal brain is exposed to alcohol, the endocannibinoids have a different effect on certain dopamine neurons which are involved in addicted behaviors than when brain is not exposed to alcohol," Shen says. "The end result is that the dopamine neurons in the brain become more sensitive to a drug of abuse's effect. So, later in life, a person needs much less drug use to become addicted."
Specifically, in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the brain, endocannibinoids play a significant role in weakening the excitatory synapses onto dopamine neurons. The VTA is the part of the brain implicated in addiction, attention and reward processes. However, in a brain prenatally exposed to alcohol, the effect of the endocannabinoids is reduced due to a decreased function of endocannabinoid receptors. As a result, the excitatory synapses lose the ability to be weakened and continue to strengthen, which Shen believes is a critical brain mechanism for increased addiction risk.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170707211125.htm
Prenatal cocaine exposure increases risk of higher teen drug use
May 3, 2017
Science Daily/Case Western Reserve University
While the crack cocaine epidemic peaked in the late 1980's, its effects are still causing harm to an estimated 3 million teenagers and young adults exposed to the stimulant in the womb.
They are twice as likely to use tobacco and marijuana at age 15 and develop a substance use disorder at 17 than teens who weren't exposed to the drug in utero, according to researchers at Case Western Reserve University.
They are also more likely to handle stress in negative ways, especially if mistreated as a child, using fewer problem-solving skills and having less control over their emotions. They're also more likely to become distracted or disengaged.
These poor coping strategies are typically associated with acting out behaviors: Teens in the study were likely to break rules, fight, show aggression, steal and use drugs, tobacco and alcohol.
At 15 years old, more than 36 percent of these teens had used a drug within the past month; at 17, it was 43 percent, significantly higher than their peers who were not exposed to cocaine in utero.
"Children exposed to cocaine in the womb are more susceptible to addiction themselves because they are more likely to have trouble controlling their behaviors and emotions, which can lead to using substances more often and at earlier ages," said Sonia Minnes, an associate professor at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve.
As lead researcher of Project Newborn, a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study that began in 1994, Minnes and her research team have followed babies with prenatal cocaine-exposure from birth into emerging adulthood.
While researchers are in the midst of a four-year, $2.5 million NIH grant to report on the group at age 21, the latest results come from two studies published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence that focus on the children at ages 15 and 17.
Cocaine, in any form, is toxic to a fetal brain, by restricting blood flow and altering the expression of genes, which can affect executive functioning, language and other types of development.
Many of the teens in the study were raised in chaotic caregiving environments; more than 30 percent reported maltreatment, including physical and emotional abuse and neglect.
These teens were more likely to use denial as a coping strategy and less likely to override initial impulses to calm themselves down, redirect thoughts positively or forego gratification when they also experienced childhood maltreatment.
"Prenatal cocaine exposure may predispose children to a lower threshold for activating 'stress circuits' and may increase their vulnerability to the harmful effects of environmental stress such as childhood maltreatment," said Meeyoung O. Min, a research associate professor at the Mandel School and a researcher with Project Newborn.
Many of the mothers in the study also used other substances during pregnancy including tobacco, alcohol and marijuana.
"Given the many challenges presented to these children, they are doing better than expected as they enter adulthood," Minnes said. "They are a testament to the benefits of providing a positive environment for a child who was put at higher risk due to drug exposure."
Project Newborn data suggests that specialized drug use prevention programs could benefit such high-risk children as they develop. In addition, the project's findings may provide insights into addressing similar public health crises, such as prenatal exposure to opiates.
"You want to prevent the next generation from using drugs while pregnant, and this is powerful data that helps make this case," Minnes said. "This project helps us better understand the many factors and pitfalls facing children whose mothers used drugs."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170503080213.htm
Cannabis use in adolescence linked to schizophrenia
Psychoactive compound in cannabis may trigger the brain disorder, researchers say
April 26, 2017
Science Daily/American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Scientists believe that schizophrenia, a disorder caused by an imbalance in the brain's chemical reactions, is triggered by a genetic interaction with environmental factors. A new Tel Aviv University study published in Human Molecular Genetics now points to cannabis as a trigger for schizophrenia.
The research, conducted by Dr. Ran Barzilay and led by Prof. Dani Offen, both of TAU's Sackler School of Medicine, finds that smoking pot or using cannabis in other ways during adolescence may serve as a catalyst for schizophrenia in individuals already susceptible to the disorder.
"Our research demonstrates that cannabis has a differential risk on susceptible versus non-susceptible individuals," said Dr. Barzilay, principal investigator of the study. "In other words, young people with a genetic susceptibility to schizophrenia -- those who have psychiatric disorders in their families -- should bear in mind that they're playing with fire if they smoke pot during adolescence."
The research team included Prof. Inna Slutsky and Hadar Segal-Gavish, both of TAU's Sackler School of Medicine, and Prof. Abraham Weizman of Geha Medical Health Center and Prof. Akira Sawa of Johns Hopkins Medical Center.
Clinical picture of mouse models mimics human adolescence
Researchers exposed mouse models with a genetic susceptibility to schizophrenia -- the mutant DISC-1 gene -- to THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis. During a time period similar to that of human adolescence, the susceptible mice were found to be at a far higher risk for lasting brain defects associated with the onset of schizophrenia.
Four categories of mice were used in the experiment: Genetically susceptible and exposed to cannabis; genetically susceptible and not exposed to cannabis; genetically intact and exposed to cannabis; and, finally, genetically intact and not exposed to cannabis. Only the genetically susceptible mice developed behavioral and biochemical brain pathologies related to schizophrenia after being exposed to cannabis, behavioral tests and neurological biochemical analyses revealed.
"The study was conducted on mice but it mimics a clinical picture of 'first episode' schizophrenia, which presents during adolescence in proximity to robust cannabis use," said Dr. Barzilay, a child and adolescent psychiatrist.
The researchers also discovered the mechanism through which the cannabis and the specific gene interact.
"A protective mechanism was observed in the non-susceptible mice," said Prof. Offen. "This mechanism involves the upregulation of a protective neurotrophic factor, BDNF, in the hippocampus. We showed in the study that if we artificially deliver BDNF to the genetically susceptible mice, they could be protected from the deleterious effect of THC during adolescence.
"This research clearly has implications in terms of public health," Prof. Offen concluded. "The novel protective mechanism identified in the study may serve as a basis for the future development of compounds capable of attenuating the deleterious effect of cannabis on brain development. However, until that time, it is important that young people at risk for psychiatric disorders (i.e., have psychiatric disorders in their family or have reacted strongly to drugs in the past) should be particularly cautious with cannabis use during adolescence."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170426124305.htm
Early use of marijuana can increase its negative health impacts
A study cautions of risks for young consumers
March 28, 2017
Science Daily/Concordia University
With new legislation imminent in Canada, marijuana is a hot topic these days. Those who smoke it may be cheering. Those who've never tried it may be thinking, why not? And those looking to make a business out of it are grappling with how to navigate a challenging product.
But one of the most contentious aspects of legalization is age. A report by the Canadian Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation, released in December 2016, recommends marijuana use be restricted to those 18 years old and older.
The need for age guidelines falls in line with a new study by James McIntosh, professor of economics in the Faculty of Arts and Science. Recently published in the journal Health, the findings show that young users report the most impact to their physical and mental health.
The article also shows that those who wait until the age of 21 to use the drug are unlikely to develop a lifelong habit.
Heightened risks for youth
For the study, McIntosh and his co-author Rawan Hassunah (BA 16) examined the results of three national surveys on tobacco, alcohol and drug use -- two in Canada and one in the United States.
"We wanted to see what the effects of regular marijuana use were on self-reported physical and mental health," McIntosh explains.
The report cites other studies demonstrating the negative impacts of marijuana. It's the first, however, to look so closely at age of first use.
In terms of overall effects, the study confirmed that marijuana does affect people's physical and mental health, that it will cause cognitive impairment, memory loss, diminished IQ, limited educational success and likelihood for developing mental illness. Physically, early users also suffer higher rates of respiratory diseases and certain cancers.
McIntosh says the younger you start, the worse the impacts.
"We found that if age of first use is below 15, it's always bad for you."
The argument for legalization
So how can these findings translate into informing youth about the risks? Besides legislation, McIntosh recommends educational programs, counselling services and a distribution system that minimizes use by young people.
Despite his warnings about age restrictions, however, he says legalization will bring more good than harm.
"The task force outlines these benefits -- to take marijuana out of criminal hands, to tax it, to make sure that product quality is preserved."
McIntosh adds that being at the cusp of legalization puts Canada in a unique position to begin rigorous study of cannabis and its effects.
"We need to start collecting data on it to see what the effects are on people of all ages. You can get all kinds of information on drinking behaviours -- they should do that with marijuana."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170328105901.htm
With worrisome animal research, more focus needed on effects of cannabis on human development
September 30, 2016
Science Daily/Georgetown University Medical Center
In this new era of legalized marijuana, far too little research has been conducted on the effect of cannabis on the development of human embryos, say researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center who scoured medical literature on the topic and found what they say is worrisome animal research.
Their study, in the journal BioMed Central (BMC) Pharmacology and Toxicology, suggests an urgent need for human epidemiological and basic research that examines the link between maternal cannabinoid use, either smoked or eaten in candy bars, and the health of newborns. Cannabinoids are chemicals like THC, the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana, that act on cannabinoid receptors in neurons, repressing the normal release of neurotransmitters.
"We know from limited human studies that use of marijuana in early pregnancy is associated with many of the same risks as tobacco, including miscarriage, birth defects, developmental delays and learning disabilities, but animal research suggests the potential for many more developmental issues linked with the drug," says the study's senior investigator, G. Ian Gallicano, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular & cellular biology at Georgetown.
Gallicano says one reason for limited research is that the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug creates challenges to conducting research.
"All of the model systems point to the notion that cannabinoids affects many aspects of human development because THC and other chemicals alter molecular pathways that shouldn't be disrupted during development of a fetus," he says.
"We also know that THC is a promising agent for treating cancer, because it negatively affects tumor growth and can cause the death of cancer cells. Embryo development has similarities to tumor formation -- it turns on growth pathways that are necessary for development," Gallicano says. "The fact that THC seems to stop cancer growth suggests how damaging the chemical could be for a fetus."
The study grew from a project of four current Georgetown medical students (Joseph Friedrich, Dara Khatib, Keon Parsa, and Ariana Santopietro) for a course, Sexual Development and Reproduction, taught by Gallicano. They undertook the analysis given that although four states have legal recreational marijuana use and 24 allow use of medical marijuana, little research has been conducted on outcomes from use of the drug in pregnancy and biological mechanisms that cause these issues.
The students reviewed the scientific literature for studies on cannabinoids and embryonic development published between 1975 and 2015. They cite the following findings:
• THC lasts in the body for weeks, especially in maternal tissues that act as reservoirs for THC and other cannabinoids, according to studies of pregnant dogs. Human cells studies have shown that THC has a half-life of eight days in fat deposits and can be detected in blood for up to 30 days;
• THC readily crosses the human placenta, which can slow clearance of the drugs while prolonging fetal exposure;
• THC levels in smoked marijuana have increased nearly 25-fold since 1970, and can be substantially stronger in edible preparations of cannabis;
• THC and other cannabinoids interfere with use of folic acid (vitamin B9), which has long been known to be essential for normal development and growth of the human placenta and embryo. Deficiencies in folic acid are linked to low human birth weight, increased risk of spontaneous abortion, and neural tube defects such as spina bifida.
• Cannabinoid signaling plays important roles in development of a mouse embryo. It is required for proper pre-implantation development, embryo transport to the uterus, and implantation.
• In post-implantation development, cannabinoid signaling functions in a multitude of pathways, including, but not limited to blood vessel growth, fate of embryonic stem cells, and normal cognitive development. For example, disruption of one key neural pathway, BDNF, has been linked to increased risk of congenital malformations and impaired cognition, including autism and low IQ in humans.
The authors also say the harms found in animal studies cited in this study do not include the damaged induced from the act of smoking marijuana.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160930080859.htm
Group identifications affect likelihood of teenagers smoking, drinking and taking cannabis
March 7, 2016
Science Daily/British Psychological Society (BPS)
Teenagers who interact positively with their family, school and friends are far less likely to smoke, binge drink and use cannabis than peers who fail to identify with these social groups, according to research from the University of Dundee.
The research team, led by Psychology PhD student Kirsty Miller, surveyed more than 1000 high school pupils aged 13-17 from the Fife area. The results showed that group identification protects against adverse health behaviour, with levels of identification with family, school and friendship groups predicting the likelihood of teenagers having smoked cigarettes, drank to excess or smoked cannabis in the past month.
The paper, published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology, looks at adolescent substance use from the perspective of social identity. The researchers asked participants to rate the ties they felt to the three groups. The more groups they strongly identified with, the less likely they were to use tobacco, alcohol or cannabis.
The survey found that 14 per cent of respondents had smoked cigarettes, 31 per cent had binged on alcohol and 7.5 per cent had smoked cannabis in the previous month. The figures decreased from 24.1 per cent (for those who had zero identifications) to 8.8 per cent (for those who had three identifications) for smoking, 41.6 per cent to 25.6 per cent for drinking and 13 per cent to 2.7 per cent for cannabis.
This follows a previous study published in Psychiatry Research by the same researchers that showed how teenagers who failed to identify with the same social groups were more than four times likely to suffer mental health problems.
Kirsty Miller said, "This, combined with our previous study, illustrates the importance of teenagers strongly identifying with as many social groups as possible in order to protect against mental health problems and negative health behaviours.
"The greater the number of social groups the participant strongly identified with, the lower the odds of them participating in negative health behaviours. We found that those who identified with the friend group only had increased odds but identification with the family and school groups as well as friends predicted reduced odds of substance use.
"In contrast, merely having contact with these groups rather than identifying strongly with them increased the odds of participation in these behaviours. This highlights the importance of the subjective aspect of identifying with a group, rather than merely having contact with it."
Kirsty and her colleagues' findings follow on from those of the recently released national report from the Health Behaviour in School-Age Children (HBSC) survey, which also considers social factors in relation to substance use and wellbeing.
The new report used the same sample group as the previous study on the links between group identifications and mental health. Of those who recorded 0 strong ties, 71 per cent said they had encountered mental ill-health while the figure fell to just 17 per cent for those who strongly identified with their family, school and friendship group. In particular, the team found that identification with their school was the strongest predictor of psychological wellbeing.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160307093642.htm
Curiosity main motivator behind synthetic THC use among college students
December 15, 2014
Science Daily/University of Cincinnati
A survey of more than 300 college students reveals that college students who use "fake weed" or synthetic THC are most likely to have tried the drug because they were curious.
Rebecca Vidourek, a University of Cincinnati assistant professor of health promotion and assistant director of the Center for Prevention Science; Keith King, a UC professor of health promotion and director of the Center for Prevention Science; and Michelle Burbage, a graduate student and graduate assistant for UC's Health Promotion and Education Program, published their findings in the current issue of the Journal of Drug Education.
The study found that 17 percent of the students surveyed reported taking synthetic THC at least once in their lifetime. Three percent of those surveyed had reported recent use. "Based on the study's findings, it appears senior year of high school and the first year of college is the primary time for initiating use of THC," write the authors of the study. "Perhaps, targeting middle and high school students with education programs on the negative effects of THC is needed to prevent initiation and regular use."
Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the chemical compound that is naturally produced in the cannabis or marijuana plant that results in the relaxation or "high" effect of marijuana users. Synthetic THC -- sold under street names such as K2, fake weed, herbal incense, plant food, spice and other names -- is produced with chemicals to mimic the effects of THC in the natural form of marijuana. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that the lab chemicals most commonly found in synthetic THC have been defined by the Drug Enforcement Agency as Schedule 1 controlled substances.
However, these lab-manufactured drugs are easy to get, hard to spot in drug tests, and, as a result, they're becoming increasingly popular among young people. The authors say previous research on the use of synthetic THC has centered on the high-school population with limited research on its use among college students.
The authors distributed a three-page survey that was completed by 338 students in undergraduate and graduate health programs at a public university.
The survey found that the majority of the survey participants had not used synthetic THC -- 17.1 percent of respondents reported using synthetic THC at least once in their lifetime. The study's authors report that of those who had tried THC, 19.2 percent reported curiosity as the top reason for trying the substance; 17.4 percent reported using the drug for the purpose of getting high and 10.6 percent reported that the "fun of feeling high" was the main factor contributing to use. The authors also report that 4 percent had tried THC to "fit in," and 3.8 percent felt they were peer-pressured into trying the drug.
The majority of students who had used the drug also reported that head shops -- retail outlets that sell items such as tobacco products, bongs, roach clips and other casual drug-related paraphernalia -- were popular places to purchase synthetic THC, followed by friends, tobacco shops, hemp shops, the Internet, gas stations, convenience stores and other locales.
The survey also turned up students reporting negative side effects from using THC, including racing heartbeat, nervousness, paranoia, nausea and headaches.
Study Demographics
The survey sample was just over 59.2 percent female (200 students) and 40.8 percent male (138 students), with ages ranging from 18 to 36. Eighty-one percent of the participants where white; 7.7 percent were African-American; 6 percent were Asian; 3.3 percent identified as "other"; and 1.5 percent reported being Hispanic. The sample included students ranging from freshmen to graduate students.
Researchers found no significant differences in drug use based on when they first tried THC. However, the survey indicated that females were more likely to try the drug at a significantly younger age (17.8) than males (18.4). The majority of freshmen and sophomores in the survey who had tried THC began using when they were just over 16 ½. Juniors, seniors and grad students reported a later initiation age of 18.82 years.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141215094316.htm
Medical marijuana liquid extract may bring hope for children with severe epilepsy
April 13, 2015
Science Daily/American Academy of Neurology (AAN)
A medicinal liquid form of marijuana may show promise as a treatment for children with severe epilepsy that is not responding to other treatments, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 67th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, April 18 to 25, 2015.
The study involved 213 people, ranging from toddlers to adults, with a median age of 11 who had severe epilepsy that did not respond to other treatments. Participants had Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, epilepsy types that can lead to intellectual disability and lifelong seizures, as well as 10 other types of severe epilepsy.
The participants were given the drug cannabidiol, a component of marijuana that does not include the psychoactive part of the plant that creates a "high." The drug is a liquid taken daily by mouth. Participants all knew they were receiving the drug in the open-label study, which was designed to determine whether the drug was safe and tolerated well.
Researchers also measured the number of seizures participants had while taking the drug. For the 137 people who completed the 12-week study, the number of seizures decreased by an average of 54 percent from the beginning of the study to the end. Among the 23 people with Dravet syndrome who finished the study, the number of convulsive seizures had gone down by 53 percent by the end of the study. For the 11 people with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome who finished the study, there was a 55 percent reduction in the number of atonic seizures, which cause a sudden loss of muscle tone.
A total of 12 people, or 6 percent, stopped taking the drug due to side effects. Side effects that occurred in more than 10 percent of participants included drowsiness (21 percent), diarrhea (17 percent), tiredness (17 percent) and decreased appetite (16 percent).
Study author Orrin Devinsky, MD, of New York University Langone Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, said that these are early findings and larger, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials are needed to measure the effectiveness of the drug.
"So far there have been few formal studies on this marijuana extract," Devinsky said. "These results are of great interest, especially for the children and their parents who have been searching for an answer for these debilitating seizures."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150413183743.htm
Marijuana use is associated with excessive daytime sleepiness in adolescents
February 13, 2015
Science Daily/Nationwide Children's Hospital
A study published recently by researchers from Nationwide Children's Hospital, found 10 percent of adolescents sent to a Sleep Center for evaluation of excessive daytime sleepiness with testing results consistent with narcolepsy had urine drug screens positive for marijuana, confounding the results.
"Our findings highlight and support the important step of obtaining a urine drug screen, in any patients older than 13 years of age, before accepting test findings consistent with narcolepsy, prior to physicians confirming this diagnosis," said Mark L. Splaingard, MD, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital and senior-author on the study. "Urine drug screening is also important in any population studies looking at the prevalence of narcolepsy in adolescents, especially with the recent trend in marijuana decriminalization and legalization."
Typically, a diagnosis of narcolepsy is made after a clinical evaluation for excessive daytime sleepiness, followed by a standardized multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) consisting of 4-5 scheduled day time nap opportunities in which speed of sleep onset and presence of rapid eye movement sleep (REM) are both calculated. However, adult studies have shown that a variety of different medications and illicit drugs may affect MSLT results.
This 10-year retrospective study of 383 children is the first to examine the prevalence of positive drug screens in pediatric patients undergoing MSLT. The study, published in Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, found that 43 percent of children with urine drug screens positive for marijuana actually had test results consistent with narcolepsy or abnormal REM sleep patterns. No child younger than 13 years of age had a postivie urine drug screen. The data showed that males were more likely to have a positive urine drug screen and MSLT findings consistent with narcolepsy.
"We believe that many of the children who had positive urine drug testing for marijuana and testing consistent with narcolepsy had improvement of the symptom of excessive day time sleepiness after enrollment in a community drug program, because most didn't come back for repeat diagnostic studies once they were drug-free," said Dr. Splaingard, also a faculty member at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.
"A key finding of this study is that marijuana use may be associated with excessive daytime sleepiness in some teenagers," said Dr. Splaingard. "A negative urine drug screen finding is an important part of the clinical evaluation before accepting a diagnosis of narcolepsy and starting treatment in a teenager."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150213164721.htm
The dangers of teens using marijuana
September 25, 2014
Science Daily/Loyola University Health System
Whether states should legalize marijuana for recreational and medical use is a hot topic across the country. As the debates continue a potentially dangerous environment is being created where more preteens, teens and young adult are beginning to use the substance with the feeling that it is safe. In fact, 36 percent of all seniors in high school and 7 percent of eighth-graders report using the drug in the past month, according to a recent study. Though public perception is that marijuana is a harmless drug, research is showing it can have a damaging impact on developing brains and may lead to life-long addiction.
"Teens are seeing marijuana as a safe substance, but its effects on the adolescent brain can be dangerous, especially if there is heavy use. As the stigma of marijuana use becomes less the number of teens using the drug has increased. More high-schoolers in the U.S. now smoke marijuana than they do cigarettes," said Garry Sigman, MD, director of the adolescent medicine division at Loyola University Health System and professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.
Marijuana is an addictive substance and, according to Sigman, adolescents are 2-4 times more likely to become dependent on the drug within two years after first use compared with adult users.
"Marijuana is the most common substance addiction being treated in adolescents in rehabilitation centers across the country. Like all addictive substances, marijuana is used to lessen uncomfortable feelings like anxiety and depression. Because the type of addiction is seen as less 'intense' in comparison to other substances such as cocaine or heroin, many people don't realize that marijuana can cause dependence and has a withdrawal syndrome," Sigman said.
Some adolescents use marijuana only occasionally because of peer pressure at a party or in a social setting, but others self-medicate with marijuana to cope with emotions and stress. One of the signs of a substance-use disorder is when drugs are used often to cope with uncomfortable feelings.
Addiction isn't the only hazard for adolescents when it comes to smoking marijuana. Research shows that heavy use can lead to neurotoxicity and alternations in brain development leading to: • Impairment in thinking • Poor educational outcomes and perhaps a lower IQ • Increased likelihood of dropping out of school • Symptoms of chronic bronchitis • Increased risk of psychosis disorders in those who are predisposed.
"Parents should inform themselves about the scientific facts relating to marijuana and the developing brain and be able to discuss the topic calmly and rationally. They need to explain that the dose of the drug in a 'joint' is three to four times higher than in years past, and that if the parents occasionally used during their lives, they now know that the risk is present if used before adulthood," Sigman said.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140925150606.htm
Marijuana users who feel low get high
September 15, 2014
Science Daily/Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
Adolescents and young adults who smoke marijuana frequently may attempt to manage negative moods by using the drug, according to a study in September's Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
"Young people who use marijuana frequently experience an increase in negative affect in the 24 hours leading up to a use event, which lends strong support to an affect-regulation model in this population," says the study's lead author Lydia A. Shrier, M.D., M.P.H., of the division of adolescent and young adult medicine at Boston Children's Hospital.
She notes that using marijuana as a coping technique for negative affect may make it harder for people to stop using the drug.
"One of the challenges is that people often may use marijuana to feel better but may feel worse afterward," she says. "Marijuana use can be associated with anxiety and other negative states. People feel bad, they use, and they might momentarily feel better, but then they feel worse. They don't necessarily link feeling bad after using with the use itself, so it can become a vicious circle."
For the study, Shrier and colleagues recruited 40 people, ages 15 to 24, who used marijuana at least twice a week, although their average was 9.7 times per week. They were trained to use a handheld computer that signaled them at a random time within three-hour intervals (four to six times per day) for two weeks. At each signal, participants were asked about their mood, companionship, perceived availability of marijuana, and recent marijuana use. Participants were also asked to report just before and just after any marijuana use. They completed more than 3,600 reports.
The researchers found that negative affect was significantly increased during the 24 hours before marijuana use compared with other periods. However, positive affect did not vary in the period before marijuana use compared with other times.
Also, neither the availability of marijuana nor the presence of friends modified the likelihood that chronic users would use marijuana following a period of negative affect.
The study is unique in that it collected data in real time to assess mood and marijuana use events. The study thus was able to identify mood that was occurring in the 24 hours before marijuana use and compared it with mood at other times, Shrier reports.
"There are a host of limitations with retrospective assessments, such as asking people 'the last time you used marijuana, why did you use it?'" according to Shrier. "We weren't asking people to predict anything or to recall anything -- we were just asking them to give us reports about how they were feeling right now. We were able to put under a microscope the association between those feelings and subsequent marijuana use."
Shrier says it could be beneficial for clinicians and counselors to help their patients identify patterns of negative affect and to implement alternative mood-regulation strategies to replace marijuana use.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140915083853.htm
Cannabis withdrawal symptoms common among adolescents treated for substance use disorder
September 2, 2014
Science Daily/Massachusetts General Hospital
Although cannabis -- commonly known as marijuana -- is broadly believed to be nonaddictive, a study by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators found that 40 percent of cannabis-using adolescents receiving outpatient treatment for substance use disorder reported experiencing symptoms of withdrawal, which are considered a hallmark of drug dependence. Study participants reporting withdrawal were more likely to meet criteria for severe substance use and for mood disorders, although the presence or absence of withdrawal did not appear to change long-term treatment outcomes. The report will be published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine and has been released online.
"Our results are timely given the changing attitudes and perceptions of risk related to cannabis use in the U.S.," says John Kelly, PhD, of the Center for Addiction Medicine in the MGH Department of Psychiatry, senior author of the study. "As more people are able to obtain and consume cannabis legally for medical and, in some states, recreational use, people are less likely to perceive it as addictive or harmful. But research shows that cannabis use can have significant consequences, and we know that among adolescents it is second only to alcohol in rates of misuse."
While several previous studies have looked at the incidence of cannabis withdrawal in adolescents and its relationship to treatment outcomes, few have included follow-up periods longer than 30 days or examined the relationship of withdrawal to factors such as the severity and consequence of cannabis use and the presence of other psychiatric symptoms. The current study enrolled 127 adolescents between ages 14 and 19 being treated at an outpatient substance use disorder clinic, 90 of whom indicated that cannabis was the substance they used most frequently.
Upon entering the study and at follow-up visits 3, 6 and 12 months later, participants received comprehensive assessments including interviews by study staff and completion of survey instruments analyzing factors related to substance use -- including whether or not they thought they might have a problem with drug use -- withdrawal symptoms, consequences in their lives attributable to substance use, and other psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses. Based on their answers, participants were divided into two groups -- those who reported cannabis withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, depression and difficulty sleeping and those who did not.
Of the 90 cannabis-using participants, 76 (84 percent) met criteria for cannabis dependence -- which include increased tolerance and use of cannabis, unsuccessful efforts to reduce or stop using, and persistent use in spite of medical and psychological problems made worse by cannabis. Withdrawal symptoms were reported by 36 participants (40 percent of the overall group), all of whom also met criteria for dependence. At the study's outset, substance use was likely to be more severe and consequences -- such as missing work or school, financial and relationship problems -- tended to be greater in participants reporting withdrawal symptoms, who also were more likely to have mood disorders.
While the presence of withdrawal symptoms is a strong indicator of cannabis dependence, the authors note, it did not significantly impact the ability of participants to reduce their use of cannabis during the 12-month follow-up period. The factor that did appear to make a difference was whether or not an individual recognized having a problem with substance use upon entering the study. Participants who both reported withdrawal symptoms and recognized having a problem had a small but steady improvement in abstinence through the entire study period. Those who reported withdrawal symptoms but did not recognize a substance use problem had a slight increase in abstinence in the first 3 months, but then had some increase in cannabis use during the subsequent 9 months, a pattern that was also seen in participants not experiencing withdrawal.
"We hypothesize that participants who experience withdrawal symptoms but do not recognize having a substance use problem may not attribute those symptoms to cannabis withdrawal," says Claire Greene, MPH, corresponding author of the report. "Those who do acknowledge a substance-use problem may correctly attribute those symptoms to cannabis withdrawal, giving them even more motivation to change their substance use behavior." Formerly with the MGH Center for Addiction Medicine, Greene is now a doctoral candidate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Kelly, the Spallin Associate Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School, adds, "The importance of understanding the addictiveness, risks and harms associated with cannabis use is a major theme of this study's findings. Recognizing those risks is known to reduce the likelihood that someone will start to use drugs, and better understanding of the role of substances in the problems experienced by patients may help them cut down on future use.
"Unfortunately, the general trend in attitudes in the U.S. is to minimize the risks and not recognize the addictiveness of cannabis," he continues. "Further research is needed determine the impact of these changing public attitudes and investigate the benefits of programs that reduce these misconceptions, which could allow us to predict whether increased education and awareness could help reduce the onset of, and harm caused by, cannabis use disorders." The study was supported by National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism grant R01AA015526.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140902094103.htm
Youth who have their first drink during puberty have higher levels of later drinking
May 18, 2013
Science Daily/Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
Research shows that the earlier the age at which youth take their first alcoholic drink, the greater the risk of developing alcohol problems. Thus, age at first drink (AFD) is generally considered a powerful predictor of progression to alcohol-related harm. A new study shows that individuals who have their first drink during puberty subsequently have higher drinking levels than do individuals with a post-pubertal drinking onset.
Results will be published in the October 2013 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.
"Most teenagers have their first alcoholic drink during puberty, however, most research on the risks of early-onset alcohol use up to now has not focused on the pubertal stage during which the first alcoholic drink is consumed," said Miriam Schneider, leader of the Research Group Developmental Neuropsychopharmacology at the Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, as well as corresponding author for the study. "Common thinking in alcohol research was that the earlier adolescents begin, the more deleterious become their drinking habits. However, a closer look at the statistics revealed a peak risk of alcohol use disorders for those beginning at 12 to 14 years of age, while even earlier beginners seemed to have a slightly lower risk. Since timing of puberty is not a simple function of chronological age, and also greatly differs between the sexes, the pubertal phase at first drink may therefore represent a stronger and better indicator for subsequent alcohol-related problems than simply the age."
"Usually this type of research has to be done retrospectively, and those studies are not very reliable," added Rainer Spanagel, head of the Institute of Psychopharmacology at the University of Heidelberg. "Prospective longitudinal studies like the one here … are able to provide reliable conclusions on such a clinically and highly relevant research question. Alternatively, animal studies can be very informative -- and which the researchers have also provided."
"Adolescents have their first drink at very different ages," explained Schneider. "It would be unethical to make adolescents have their first drink in the course of a study, so this variable requires a longitudinal epidemiological study or experimental animal research to assess drinking behavior. Also, the determination of the pubertal stage at AFD is not trivial; even our study had to rely on estimations. Third, it takes longitudinal studies to assess drinking data in early adulthood. Fourth, both drinking behavior and pubertal development can be traced back to common factors such as psychosocial adversity. Finally, while puberty and adolescence are overlapping time periods, with puberty being a part of adolescence, the terms cannot be used interchangeably. 'Puberty' refers to the time period during which sexual maturity is achieved. 'Adolescence' refers to the gradual period of behavioral and cognitive transition from childhood to adulthood, where adult behavioral abilities are acquired, and the boundaries of this period are not precisely defined. Girls complete puberty much earlier than boys, indicating a difference in timing of neurodevelopmental processes."
Schneider and her colleagues determined pubertal age at first drink in 283 young adults (152 females, 131 males) that were part of a larger epidemiological study. In addition, the participants' drinking behavior -- number of drinking days, amount of alcohol consumed, and hazardous drinking -- was assessed at ages 19, 22, and 23 years via interviews and questionnaires. Furthermore, a rodent study concurrently examined the effects of mid-puberty or adult alcohol exposure on voluntary alcohol consumption in later life by 20 male Wistar rats.
"Both studies revealed that those individuals that initiated alcohol consumption during puberty tended to drink more and also more frequently than those starting after puberty," said Schneider.
"In other words," said Spanagel, "this study indicates that the period of puberty might serve as a risk window for AFD. Results also show a higher Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) score later in life in those individuals who had their AFD in puberty. A higher AUDIT score is indicative of a high likelihood of hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption. This information is of great relevance for intervention programs. Even more interesting, neither pre-pubertal nor post-pubertal periods seem to serve as risk-time windows. Therefore, intervention programs should be directed selectively towards young people in puberty."
Both Schneider and Spanagel noted the influence of a high degree of brain development that occurs during puberty.
"Numerous neurodevelopmental alterations are taking place during puberty, such as maturational processes in cortical and limbic regions, which are characterized by both progressive and regressive changes such as myelination and synaptic pruning," said Schneider. "Typically, an overproduction of axons and synapses can be found during early puberty, followed by rapid pruning during later puberty, indicating that connections and communication between subcortical and cortical regions are in a highly transitional state during this period."
"Puberty is a phase in which the brain reward system undergoes major functional changes," said Spanagel. "For example, the endocannabinoid and dopamine systems are at their peak and these major neurobiological changes are reflected on the behavioral level; reward sensitivity is highest during puberty. Therefore, during puberty the brain is in a highly vulnerable state for any kind of reward, and drug rewards in particular. This high vulnerability might also affect reward seeking, or in this particular case, alcohol seeking and drinking behavior later in life."
"In summary," said Schneider, "puberty is a very critical developmental period due to ongoing neurodevelopmental processes in the brain. It is exactly during puberty that substances like drugs of abuse -- alcohol, cannabis, etc. -- may induce the most destructive and also persistent effects on the still developing brain, which may in some cases even result in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia or addictive disorders. Prevention work therefore needs to increase awareness of specific risks and vulnerability related to puberty."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130518153740.htm
Mothers' teen cannabinoid exposure may increase response of offspring to opiate drugs
Science Daily/June 5, 2012
Tufts University, Health Sciences Campus
Mothers who use marijuana as teens -- long before having children -- may put their future children at a higher risk of drug abuse, new research suggests.
Researchers in the Neuroscience and Reproductive Biology section at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine conducted a study to determine the transgenerational effects of cannabinoid exposure in adolescent female rats. For three days, adolescent rats were administered the cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN-55, 212-2, a drug that has similar effects in the brain as THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. After this brief exposure, they remained untreated until being mated in adulthood.
The male offspring of the female rats were then measured against a control group for a preference between chambers that were paired with either saline or morphine. The rats with mothers who had adolescent exposure to WIN-55,212-2 were significantly more likely to opt for the morphine-paired chamber than those with mothers who abstained. The results suggest that these animals had an increased preference for opiate drugs.
The study was published in the Journal of Psychopharmocology and funded by the National Institutes of Health.
"Our main interest lies in determining whether substances commonly used during adolescence can induce behavioral and neurochemical changes that may then influence the development of future generations," said Research Assistant Professor John J. Byrnes, the study's lead author, "We acknowledge that we are using rodent models, which may not fully translate to the human condition. Nevertheless, the results suggest that maternal drug use, even prior to pregnancy, can impact future offspring."
Byrnes added that much research is needed before a definitive connection is made between adolescent drug use and possible effects on future children.
The study builds on earlier findings by the Tufts group, most notably a study published last year in Behavioral Brain Research by Assistant Professor Elizabeth Byrnes that morphine use as adolescent rats induces changes similar to those observed in the present study.
Other investigators in the field have previously reported that cannabinoid exposure during pregnancy (in both rats and humans) can affect offspring development, including impairment of cognitive function, and increased risk of depression and anxiety.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120605155944.htm
How cannabis use during adolescence affects brain regions associated with schizophrenia
May 8, 2012
Science Daily/Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)
New research from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) published in Nature's Neuropsychopharmacology has shown physical changes to exist in specific brain areas implicated in schizophrenia following the use of cannabis during adolescence. The research has shown how cannabis use during adolescence can interact with a gene, called the COMT gene, to cause physical changes in the brain.
The COMT gene provides instructions for making enzymes which breakdown a specific chemical messenger called dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps conduct signals from one nerve cell to another, particularly in the brains reward and pleasure centres. Adolescent cannabis use and its interaction with particular forms of the COMT gene have been shown to cause physical changes in the brain as well as increasing the risk of developing schizophrenia.
Dr Áine Behan, Department of Physiology, RCSI and lead author on the study said 'This is the first study to show that the combined effects of the COMT gene with adolescent cannabis use cause physical changes in the brain regions associated with schizophrenia. It demonstrates how genetic, developmental and environmental factors interact to modulate brain function in schizophrenia and supports previous behavioural research which has shown the COMT gene to influence the effects of adolescent cannabis use on schizophrenia-related behaviours.
The three areas of the brain assessed in this study were found to show changes in cell size, density and protein levels.
'Increased knowledge on the effects of cannabis on the brain is critical to understanding youth mental health both in terms of psychological and psychiatric well-being,' Dr Behan continued.
The research was funded by the Health Research Board and Science Foundation Ireland.
Senior authors include Professor David Cotter and Professor Mary Cannon, Department of Psychiatry and Professor John Waddington, Department of Molecular and Cellular Therapeutics, RCSI. Additional authors in the study included Magdalena Hryniewiecka,
Department of Psychiatry, RCSI, Dr Colm O'Tuathaigh and Dr Anthony Kinsella, Department of Molecular and Cellular Therapeutics, RCSI as well as collaborators Professor Maria Karayiorgou and Professor Joseph Gogos from the Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120508112748.htm
Cannabis damages young brains more than originally thought
December 20, 2009
Science Daily/McGill University Health Centre
Canadian teenagers are among the largest consumers of cannabis worldwide. The damaging effects of this illicit drug on young brains are worse than originally thought, according to new research by Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, a psychiatric researcher from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. The new study, published in Neurobiology of Disease, suggests that daily consumption of cannabis in teens can cause depression and anxiety, and have an irreversible long-term effect on the brain.
"We wanted to know what happens in the brains of teenagers when they use cannabis and whether they are more susceptible to its neurological effects than adults," explained Dr. Gobbi, who is also a professor at McGill University. Her study points to an apparent action of cannabis on two important compounds in the brain -- serotonin and norepinephrine -- which are involved in the regulation of neurological functions such as mood control and anxiety.
"Teenagers who are exposed to cannabis have decreased serotonin transmission, which leads to mood disorders, as well as increased norepinephrine transmission, which leads to greater long-term susceptibility to stress," Dr. Gobbi stated.
Previous epidemiological studies have shown how cannabis consumption can affect behaviour in some teenagers. "Our study is one of the first to focus on the neurobiological mechanisms at the root of this influence of cannabis on depression and anxiety in adolescents," confirmed Dr. Gobbi. It is also the first study to demonstrate that cannabis consumption causes more serious damage during adolescence than adulthood.
Dr. Gabriella Gobbi is a researcher at the neuroscience axis of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre and also a psychiatrist and associate professor at the Department of Psychiatry, McGill University.
This study was funded by a grant from The Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation (CPRF)
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091217115834.htm
Heavy Marijuana Use May Damage Developing Brain in Teens, Young Adults
February 3, 2009
Science Daily/Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Adolescents and young adults who are heavy users of marijuana are more likely than non-users to have disrupted brain development, according to a new study. Pediatric researchers found abnormalities in areas of the brain that interconnect brain regions involved in memory, attention, decision-making, language and executive functioning skills. The findings are of particular concern because adolescence is a crucial period for brain development and maturation.
The researchers caution that the study is preliminary and does not demonstrate that marijuana use causes the brain abnormalities. However, "Studies of normal brain development reveal critical areas of the brain that develop during late adolescence, and our study shows that heavy cannabis use is associated with damage in those brain regions," said study leader Manzar Ashtari, Ph.D., director of the Diffusion Image Analysis and Brain Morphometry Laboratory in the Radiology Department of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
The study appeared early last month in the Journal of Psychiatric Research. The current research builds on previous work by Ashtari and colleagues, who used the same imaging technology to analyze normal brain development in adolescent subjects.
In the current study, working with child psychiatrist Sanjiv Kumra, M.D., now at the University of Minnesota, Ashtari and colleagues performed imaging studies on 14 young men from a residential drug treatment center in New York State, as well as 14 age-matched healthy controls. All the study subjects were males, with an average age of 19. The researchers performed the imaging studies at Long Island Jewish Medical Center.
The 14 subjects from the drug treatment center all had a history of heavy cannabis use during adolescence. On average, they had smoked marijuana from age 13 till age 18 or 19, and reported smoking nearly 6 marijuana joints daily in the final year before they stopped using the drug.
The study team performed a type of magnetic resonance imaging scan called diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) that measures water movement through brain tissues. "The abnormal patterns of water diffusion that we found among the young men with histories of marijuana use suggest damage or an arrest in development of the myelin sheath that surrounds brain cells," said Ashtari. Myelin provides a coating around brain cells similar to insulation covering an electrical wire. If myelin does not function properly, signaling within the brain may be slower.
Myelin gives its color to the white matter of the brain, and covers the nerve fibers that connect different brain regions. "Our results suggest that early-onset substance use may alter the development of white matter circuits, especially those connections among the frontal, parietal and temporal regions of the brain," said Ashtari. "Abnormal white matter development could slow information transfer in the brain and affect cognitive functions."
Ashtari added that the findings are preliminary. Among other limitations of the study, such as a small sample size, five of the 14 subjects with heavy cannabis use also had a history of alcohol abuse, which may have contributed an effect. Also, it is possible that the brain abnormalities may have predisposed the subjects to drug dependence, rather than drug usage causing the brain abnormalities.
"Further research should be done to investigate the relation between repeated marijuana use and white matter development," said Ashtari. "However, our work reinforces the idea that the adolescent brain may be especially vulnerable to risky behaviors such as substance abuse, because of crucial neural development that occurs during those years."
The National Institute of Mental Health provided grant support for this research. Ashtari's and Kumra's co-authors were Kelly Cervellione, of Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Jamaica, N.Y.; John Cottone, of Zucker Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, N.Y.; and Babak A. Ardekani, of The Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, N.Y. Serge Sevy of Zucker Hillside Hospital also contributed to the project.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090202175105.htm
Teen 'Self Medication' for Depression Leads to More Serious Mental Illness
May 10, 2008
Science Daily/US National Drug Control Policy
Millions of American teens report experiencing weeks of hopelessness and loss of interest in normal daily activities and many of these depressed teens are using marijuana and other drugs, making their situation worse, according to a new White House report released today. The report, from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), reveals that marijuana use can worsen depression and lead to more serious mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, anxiety, and even suicide.
Research shows that some teens are using drugs to alleviate feelings of depression ("self-medicating"), when in fact, using marijuana can compound the problem. The report, released to coincide with May's Mental Health Awareness Month, shows a staggering two million teens felt depressed at some point during the past year, and depressed teens are more than twice as likely as non-depressed teens to have used marijuana during that same period. Depressed teens are also almost twice as likely to have used illicit drugs as non-depressed teens. They are also more than twice as likely as their peers to abuse or become dependent on marijuana. Marijuana use is associated with depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts.
"Marijuana is not the answer. Too many young people are making a bad situation worse by using marijuana in a misguided effort to relieve their symptoms of depression," said John P. Walters, Director, National Drug Control Policy. "Parents must not dismiss teen moodiness as a passing phase. Look closely at your teen's behavior because it could be a sign of something more serious."
Although marijuana use among teens has dropped by 25 percent since 2001, more teens use marijuana than all other illicit drugs combined. The new report, "Teen Marijuana Use Worsens Depression: An Analysis of Recent Data Shows 'Self-Medicating' Could Actually Make Things Worse," shows the following:
· Teens who smoke marijuana at least once a month are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than non-users;
· Using marijuana can cause depression and other mental illnesses;
· The percentage of depressed teens is equal to the percentage of depressed adults, but depressed teens are more likely than depressed adults to use marijuana and other illicit drugs;
· Teen girls who use marijuana daily are more likely to develop depression than girls who do not use marijuana;
· Depressed teens are also more likely than non-depressed teens to engage in other risky behaviors such as daily cigarette use and heavy alcohol use.
· "Don't be fooled into thinking that pot is harmless," said Dr. Drew Pinksy, internist, addiction expert, and host of VH1's Celebrity Rehab. "Marijuana is an addictive drug. Teens who are already depressed and use marijuana may increase their odds of suffering from even more serious mental health problems."
In fact, the potency of smoked marijuana has risen consistently over the past decades and higher potency translates into serious health consequences for teens. Some studies show that higher potency marijuana may be contributing to an increase in the number of American teens seeking treatment for marijuana dependence. The risks associated with recent and long-term marijuana use include schizophrenia, other forms of psychosis, and even suicide. "Not only are adolescents at greater risk for drug abuse, but they may suffer more consequences," said Nora D. Volkow, M. D., Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "There is also some evidence that in vulnerable teens-because of genetic factors-the abuse of marijuana can trigger a schizophreniform disorder."
ONDCP is urging parents to pay closer attention to their teen's behavior and mood swings, and recognize that marijuana and other drugs could be playing a dangerous role in their child's life. Parents can take some concrete steps to protect their teen from marijuana and other illicit drug use:
· Look closer at your teen's behavior-moodiness may not just be a passing phase; it could be sign of depression or drug use;
· Recognize the warning signs of drug use and depression, including carelessness with grooming, change in behavior and friends, loss of interest in daily activities, and withdrawal from family;
· Be more involved: monitor your teen's activities; ask questions and know how he or she spends time; set limits about drug use with clear rules and consequences for breaking them.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509105348.htm