Marijuana in Adolescents

The legalization of marijuana is a very controversial topic, and one of the

most-talked-about subjects is the effect it has on youth, due to a perceived increase in

ease of access. Some of the most common concerns include; the permanent

deterioration that it may cause in adolescent brains, its dangerous properties in

decreasing inhibitions (Green, Musci, &... Ialongo, 2017), and the role that marijuana

has in causing schizophrenia. However, since the legalization there has been an

increase in the amount of medical research possible, causing many families with

gravely ill children to move into Colorado in order to take part in some of the benefits of

medical marijuana. The case may be that overall, the medical benefits of the

legalization outweigh the negative effects that greater access causes, which stricter

controls could mitigate.

Rats exposed to THC soon after birth or during adolescence show problems with

learning and memory later in their lives. These cognitive impairments have a direct

correlation to structural and functional changes to the hippocampus, the part of the brain

associated with motivation and impulse control. When THC is administered to rats

during their adolescence, those rats have an altered reward system formed within their

brains (Abuse, N. I. (n.d.) 2017). However, this does not necessarily translate to

humans, due to the short adolescence of rats. The fact that their adolescence lasts
mere weeks means that there is no time for the effects to wear off. While some research

has found that a similar effect occurs in marijuana using humans, with lowered ability in

memory, learning, and impulse control when compared to nonusers, there has also

been evidence that all of those effects are temporary (Wallis, (2017). The majority of

studies in humans that have found impaired cognitive function have studied current

users and those who quit very recently. A 2012 meta-analysis found that among users

who had not partaken for 25 days or more there was no difference in cognitive function

when compared to nonusers. Another complicating factor with the human studies is the

fact that many users come from disadvantaged home environments that include

childhood poverty, abuse, and neglect (Green, Musci, &... Ialongo, 2017). Those factors

also make their mark on brain anatomy, and it is often difficult to untangle the variables.

The researchers involved in all of the human studies agree that the level and (possible)

duration of the effect depends partially on when the user began smoking and how much

or often they used. (Wallis, 2017)

The other grave concern about marijuana use by adolescents is increased

promiscuity due to lowered inhibitions. When combined with use of other drugs,

including alcohol, there is a high level of correlation between heavy marijuana smoking

and voluntary, unprotected sex. Furthermore, the above effects are significantly more

likely to occur when marijuana use begins in adolescence, rather than later. The

likelihood of unprotected sex increases by nearly 3% in adolescents who use marijuana

(Green, Musci, &... Ialongo, 2017). When this is added to the statistic that young adults

up to age 25 have unprotected sex once a month, it paints an alarming picture of risk.

While the aforementioned effects occur with the use of any inhibition-lowering drugs,

including alcohol, use of marijuana increases the risk by 2 percent. (Abuse, N. I. n.d.)

Of course, the main concern with the increased promiscuity described above is a

heightened risk of sexually transmitted diseases and teenage pregnancy. One-quarter of

young adults aged up to 25 have had an STD and 28.5% have had multiple partners in

a single month (American Sexual Health Association, 2016). In a study earlier this year,

a direct correlation was found between increased use of marijuana and increased

instances of multiple partners within a month, pregnancy, and contracting one or

multiple sexual diseases (Green, Musci, &... Ialongo, 2017).

There has been the linkage of marijuana use to schizophrenia. For many years

scientists have observed that schizophrenics are more likely than non-schizophrenics to

smoke marijuana. However, it is not entirely clear that schizophrenia is caused by

smoking marijuana, rather than the other way. There is strong evidence to support the

idea that many schizophrenics who smoke marijuana are trying to self-medicate, as

many of them had not smoked marijuana before the onset of their disorder (Smit, Bolier,

& Cuijpers 2004). A 1969 study of the majority of Swedish men between the ages of 18

and 20 (military conscripts) found that those who used marijuana heavily (>50 times)
prior to conscription had a slightly increased risk of developing schizophrenia (Rice

University 2016). This shows that marijuana is likely a causal factor in schizophrenia. It

is clear from many sources that it is a minor factor, and should not be a major

consideration for most people without additional risk factors. More research is required

to root out the complicated role marijuana plays in schizophrenia (Smit, Bolier, &

Cuijpers 2004).

For centuries, artists and creatives have been insisting that the use of marijuana

enhances their creativity. Two studies performed on this element of marijuana use have

returned vastly different results. One study has concluded that the use of marijuana

increases creativity, specifically creative solutions in determining consequences (Kowal,

Durieux, & ... Hommel, 2015). A second study with a larger sample size suggests that

casual marijuana use does not increase or decrease creativity, but that heavy use has

the effect of reducing creativity across four categories (Fluency, Flexibility, Originality,

and Elaboration). It is important to note that neither study had a large enough sample

size to be conclusive (Bourassa, & Vaugeois, 2001).

Medical marijuana has a number of possible uses for those sick with many types

of maladies. One of the illnesses it has been used to treat is cancer. While marijuana is

not directly effective against cancer, there is a dramatic drop-off in appetite and increase

in nausea associated with chemotherapy. This often leads to chemotherapy patients

losing their strength, causing them to become sicker and less able to fight off their

illness. Marijuana is effective against those symptoms, due to its focus on the

hippocampus, which controls appetite (Cotter 2009). It is worth knowing that CBD is the

component of marijuana that has the majority of the medical effects, and there are

synthetic versions of marijuana that are not hallucinogenic because most of the THC is

removed. Concerns about side effects such as hallucinations, euphoria, and paranoia

can, therefore, be mostly averted by using the new compounds (Clinical Pharmacist,

2017).

The most widely praised use for medical marijuana is in treating seizures, as

shown in the 3-month Charlotte’s Web study. The cannabinoid oil helps to reduce

seizures in children by preventing the over excitement of nerve cells. It was designed

specifically to aid children with Dravet Syndrome, an extreme form of epilepsy that was

previously untreatable (Clinical Pharmacist, 2017). Children with Dravet syndrome

experience numerous seizures each day, which last over two minutes. Many of the

children diagnosed with Dravet's are handicapped to the extent that they cannot learn to

walk or talk, let alone become functional members of society (Dravet Syndrome.

Epilepsy Foundation, 2014). 84% of the children given the oil had significant

improvements, manifesting in the form of a reduction in seizures of about 50%. 9% of

the patients were able to become seizure free. A continuing followup study found that
96% of the patients continued to improve over the course of the next year (Clinical

Pharmacist, 2017).

In conclusion, the new legalization of marijuana has doubtlessly caused several

significant problems for adolescents, as well as opening some new doors. While there

are both positive and negative effects of the legalization, the positive outweighs the

negative, on the whole. The major negative side effects are treatable with educational

outreach and tighter parental oversight, which will likely come naturally over time, once

legalization is a more established aspect of society. The medical research ongoing is

unprecedented, and there is evidence that many of the negative effects associated with

marijuana use are temporary.

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