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(University of Birmingham) Posted on 01 Oct 2021
Those with a recorded history of cannabis use in general practice records are at a much higher risk of developing mental ill health problems such as anxiety or depression as well as severe mental illnesses, new research shows.
The findings point to the need for a public health approach to the management of people misusing cannabis, including the need to emphasise the importance of general practitioners to continue enquiring about recreational drug use.
While the links between cannabis use and severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and psychosis are well researched, the associations are less clear between cannabis use as described in patient’s GP records and other, more common types of mental ill health such as depression and anxiety.
In a new study, published in Psychological Medicine, researchers in the University of Birmingham’s Institute for Mental Health and the Institute of Applied Health Research found a strong link between general practice recorded cannabis use and mental ill health in one of the largest cohorts ever explored.
Senior author Dr Clara Humpston said: “Cannabis is often considered to be one of the ‘safer’ drugs and has also shown promise in medical therapies, leading to calls for it be legalised globally. Although we are unable to establish a direct causal relationship, our findings suggest we should continue to exercise caution since the notion of cannabis being a safe drug may well be mistaken.”
Dr Joht Singh Chandan said: “The research reaffirms the need to ensure a public health approach to recreational drug use continues to be adopted across the UK. We must continue to progress measures to improve the prevention and detection of drug use as well as implement the appropriate supportive measures in an equitable manner to prevent the secondary negative health consequences.”
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Public Health Significance—Dual use of alcohol and cannabis appears to be associated with adverse behavioral and psychological consequences and is a rapidly growing public health concern. This study suggests dual users have greater demand for alcohol, steeply discount delayed alcoholic drinks, and are at higher risk for alcohol use disorder than individuals who consume alcohol but do not consume cannabis.
The reinforcer pathologies model proposes 2 behavioral economic constructs interact in addiction: operant demand and delay discounting. These constructs manifest as behavioral markers of addiction in the form of excessive reinforcer value and strong preference for immediate access and consumption of this reinforcer despite suboptimal long-term outcomes. The first aim of this investigation was to identify the degree to which delay discounting (of money and alcohol) and demand for alcohol differ between college student drinkers (N = 185) who do and do not co-use cannabis. As a second aim, we sought to replicate the 2-factor solution for alcohol and cannabis demand within a college sample. Results suggest dual users have significantly stronger Persistence and Amplitude for alcohol, demonstrate steeper delay discounting of alcoholic drinks, and are at greater risk for alcohol use disorder than individuals who drink yet do not use cannabis. These results provide further support for the reinforcer pathologies model and contribute to the literature on dual-substance use in the college populationNude, G. P., Reed, D. D., Thornton, T. J., & Amlung, M. (2021). Dual use of alcohol and cannabis among college students: A reinforcer pathologies approach. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 29(4), 407–417. https://doi.org/10.1037/pha0000369. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
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After a strong, sustained and successful anti-cannabis demand reduction campaign in the late 80’s and early 90’s, cannabis use was declining from a then historic high, but the N.O.R.M.L’s push to use ‘medicinal marijuana’ in the mid 1990’ as a trojan horse to get declining youth use back up, has seen that strategy work, as the following tragically reveals.
- Key MTF findings on college students’ marijuana use in 2020 and recent trends are:
- In 2020, annual prevalence of marijuana use reached a historic high since the early 1980s, at 44%.
- The five year trend from 2015 to 2020 showed a significant 6% jump in the annual prevalence of marijuana use.
- Daily marijuana use increased to 7.9% a new all-time high over the past four decades.
- Over one-in-twelve college students use marijuana on a daily or near daily basis.
- 30 day marijuana vaping doubled between 2017 to 2019 from 5.2% to 14%. It slightly declined in 2020 to 12%.
- 44% Annual prevalence of marijuana use among U.S. college students
- The U.S. Monitoring the Future (MTF) report for 2020 found, among college students annual prevalence of marijuana use reached a historic high since the early 1980s, at 44%.
- Monitoring the Future, 2020
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(Harms of Cannabis Use Whilst Pregnant)
Abstract: Up to 20% of pregnant women ages 18–24 consume cannabis during pregnancy. Moreover, clinical studies indicate that cannabis consumption during pregnancy leads to fetal growth restriction (FGR), which is associated with an increased risk of obesity, type II diabetes (T2D), and cardiovascular disease in the offspring. This is of great concern considering that the concentration of D9- tetrahydrocannabinol (D9-THC), a major psychoactive component of cannabis, has doubled over the last decade and can readily cross the placenta and enter fetal circulation, with the potential to negatively impact fetal development via the endocannabinoid (eCB) system. Cannabis exposure in utero could also lead to FGR via placental insufficiency. In this review, we aim to examine current pre-clinical and clinical findings on the direct effects of exposure to cannabis and its constituents on fetal development as well as indirect effects, namely placental insufficiency, on postnatal metabolic diseases, (International Journal of Molecular Sciences)
- The Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado: The Impact.
- Recent cannabis use and myocardial infarction in young adults: a cross-sectional study
- New Study Outlines Public Health Impacts of Marijuana Legalization: USA
- Weed Very Unhelpful with Covid-19 – Study: Genetic Liability to Cannabis Use Disorder and COVID-19 Hospitalization