The study warns that adolescent marijuana smokers with mental health disorders are THREE times more likely to injure themselves
- U.S. researchers have studied more than 200,000 teens with mood disorders
- It was found that ten percent of them were diagnosed with “cannabis use disorder”
- This condition is linked to a 3.28 times higher risk of non-fatal self-harm
A new shock has found that adolescents with bipolar disorder or depression who smoke cannabis have an increased risk of death and self-harm.
Adolescent mood disorders have long been linked to cannabis abuse and this addiction has been found to have a significant impact on mortality.
Researchers at Ohio State University found that teens with a mood disorder and a cannabis habit were 3.28 times more likely to injure themselves and 59% more likely to die from all causes. .
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Researchers at Ohio State University in the United States found that adolescents with mood disorders and a cannabis habit are 3.28 times more likely to injure themselves and 59% more at risk of dying from all causes (stock )
The risk of death due to an unintentional overdose is 2.4 times higher than for people who avoid drugs, and the probability of being the victim of a crime is 3.24 times higher, the study shows.
“Marijuana use and dependence are common among young people and young adults with mood disorders, but the association of this behavior with self-harm, suicide and the general risk of mortality is poorly understood in this already vulnerable population,” says lead author Dr. Cynthia Fontanella.
“These findings should be taken into account because states are considering legalizing medical and recreational marijuana, both of which are associated with increased cannabis use disorder.”
The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, looked at anonymous cases of more than 200,000 people between the ages of 10 and 24.
Cannabis use was observed in 21,040 of adolescents with mood disorders, one in ten in the study cohort.
The study used professionally grown cannabis plants that were carefully extracted and applied to models, and the researchers say their findings do not mean smoking marijuana or using CBD oil provides protection against Covid-19 (stock)
Cannabis abuse was more common in the elderly, as well as blacks and men.
During the seven-year observation period, participants were also closely studied to determine the prevalence of non-fatal self-harm, all-cause mortality, suicide, overdose, car accidents, and homicides.
“We also found that cannabis use disorder was significantly associated with self-harm, including unintentional overdose death and homicide,” said Professor Fontanella.
“Unfortunately, although this observational study draws attention to these associations, it cannot contribute to our understanding of causality or mechanism.”
Researchers say that not only are young people with mood disorders more likely to use cannabis, but the drug can also worsen symptoms and interfere with treatment.
Decreasing rates of cannabis use and disrupting cannabis use could reduce the risk, ”said lead professor Mary Fristad.
“Individual and family therapy models, including cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational motivation-enhancing therapy, have been shown to reduce cannabis use in young people.”
Nearly two-thirds of people in their mid-20s have used illegal drugs in their lifetime
Nearly two-thirds of young adults in the UK have used an illegal drug at least once in their lifetime, new research suggests.
This figure is 22.2 per cent higher than official data from the Crime Survey England and Wales, which informs government policy.
The authors of the new analysis, from Bristol and Public Health England, say that the illegality of illicit drug use means that measuring real consumption is difficult and leads to underestimation.
Amphetamine is the least reported drug, with the new study finding that almost one in three (32.9%) of 24-year-olds took the drug illegally.
This is a fourfold increase in the prevalence observed in the Crime Survey, which records only 8.1%.
Amphetamine was defined as including MDMA, but not ecstasy, which itself was taken by one in nine (11.1%) people in the mid-1920s.
The study shows that cannabis was taken by 60.5% of people, a significant increase compared to the estimate of less than 37.3%.
The data also show that cocaine powder was taken by 30.8 percent of people, as opposed to the 13.9 percent figure promoted by the Crime Survey.
Crack cocaine use is the same for both surveys, in only 1% of the population, while hallucinogens increased by 11.3% to 18.1% of those in the Bristol study.
Opioid use was statistically higher and was taken by one in 20 people, while sedatives or tranquilizers were used by 11.6 percent of young adults, up 8.1 percent.
In the picture, the percentage of respondents to the Bristol study that analyzes how many people have taken illicit drugs at some point in their lives