by Tabitha Britt
If you’re raising a teenager right now, you’re probably worried about their grades, their friends, their screen time, and, naturally, whether they’re experimenting with drugs. Weed has always been on that list, but a new study published in JAMA Health Forum shows it may be much more dangerous for a growing brain than experts realized.
Researchers tracked more than 463,000 adolescents (ages 13 to 17) through their mid-twenties. They found that those who admitted to using cannabis in the past year had a higher risk of developing bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and psychotic disorders later on.
In fact, for teens who used cannabis, the risk of developing psychotic and bipolar disorders roughly doubled.
If you’re a millennial parent, you probably remember that infamous “Above the Influence” anti-drug PSA where a teenager literally melts into the couch after smoking weed. Back then, those commercials felt pretty dramatic. But the reality is that the cannabis products on the market today are exponentially stronger than the stuff we grew up hearing about.
Average THC levels in California cannabis flower, for example, now sit above 20%. Some cannabis products (e.g., edibles, oil, etc.) have more than 95% THC.
Even with those sky-high potency levels, cannabis is still the most commonly used illicit drug among teens in the U.S. Around 8% of eighth graders are currently using it, and by the time they reach their senior year, that number jumps to 26%.
One of the most concerning details from the study is the timeline. Researchers found that, on average, the teens reported their cannabis use roughly 1.7 to 2.3 years prior to receiving an official psychiatric diagnosis. Since the study followed these kids for years, it gives us strong evidence that using cannabis during adolescence can actively contribute to mental illness down the line.
This doesn’t just apply to kids who are smoking every single day. Researchers looked at any self-reported cannabis use within the past year. Even after adjusting for other substance use and prior mental health issues, the heightened risk for severe psychiatric disorders remained.
You can’t monitor your teens 24/7, but you can change how you talk to them about this stuff. Dr. Lynn Silver, one of the study’s co-authors, noted the importance of viewing teenage cannabis use as a major health concern instead of a harmless phase.
“The evidence increasingly points to the need for an urgent public health response — one that reduces product potency, prioritizes prevention, limits youth exposure and marketing, and treats adolescent cannabis use as a serious health issue, not a benign behavior,” she explained, per Science Daily.
Have the awkward conversations. Give your teens the evidence-based facts about what high-potency THC does to a developing brain, and keep the lines of communication open.
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