Adolescents Using Marijuana Face Twice the Risk of Serious Mental Health Issues

A study has revealed that adolescents who use marijuana are twice as likely to develop serious mental illnesses such as psychotic and bipolar disorders in adulthood. Researchers in California tracked the health of 463,396 adolescents over 26 years, confirming a strong link between marijuana addiction and mental health problems. Dr. Kelly Young-Wolff, the lead author, emphasized the importance of providing parents and youths with evidence-based information about the harmful effects of marijuana. Kathmandu, July 29.

The research, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum, demonstrates that adolescents who consume cannabis face nearly double the risk of experiencing severe mental health disorders like psychotic disorder and bipolar disorder later in life. This study was conducted jointly by the Kaiser Permanente Public Health Institute’s “Getting It Right from the Start” program, the University of California San Francisco, and the University of Southern California.

In the study, researchers meticulously tracked the health status of 13 to 17-year-old adolescents for 26 years. Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the research analyzed electronic health records from child health assessments conducted between 2016 and 2023. It was observed that symptoms of mental illness tended to appear on average 1.7 to 2.3 years after initial reports of marijuana use among the adolescents. This longitudinal study provides solid evidence that marijuana use during adolescence can contribute to the development of mental illnesses later in life.