Young people may be even more vulnerable to the health risks of cannabis than previously thought, research today suggested.
Under a landmark trial of more than 100 adults and children in London, scientists found teens who used the drug reported far worse problems with memory and concentration than adults who smoked cannabis.
This was seen regardless of the strength or amount of consumed.
Scientists warned this was a sign it could be ‘significantly more dangerous’ for adolescents, and ‘disrupt’ their development.
It comes as intriguing data yesterday suggested Americans are now ingesting the drug more regularly than alcohol.
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Roughly 17.7million people in the US are using the drug daily, compared to 14.7million daily drinkers, according to findings from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
This is the first time since records began in 1979 that marijuana has overtaken alcohol — a trend experts say is a direct result of widespread legalisation.
Dr Rachel Lees, study author and expert in addiction and cannabis use disorder at the University of Bath, said: ‘We already knew, from earlier research, that adolescents have higher rates of cannabis use disorder than adults.’
Cannabis use disorder — a recognised psychiatric disorder — occurs when people cannot stop using marijuana, even though it is causing health and social issues such as affecting their work and relationships.
Dr Lees added: ‘Until now we didn’t know if this was because younger people were simply using more or stronger cannabis than adults. We now know this isn’t the case.’
The researchers quizzed 70 adults, aged 26 to 29, and 76 adolescents, aged 16 to 17, every three months for a year, on their symptoms after using cannabis.
This included how difficult they found it to stop taking the drug, any problems they had with memory or concentration after using and if it had interfered with their daily obligations.
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They also tracked the frequency of each symptom and accounted for amount of THC — the active ingredient in weed that causes the high — used by volunteers.
Participants were then given a score from 0 to 32. Teens on average recorded a score 3.7 points higher on average than adults.
Dr Lees added: ‘Across the 12 months of the study, adolescents [in the study] consistently scored higher than adults, indicating they faced more struggles with cannabis.
‘We found that 70 per cent of teens reported having failed to do what was normally expected of them because of using cannabis, whereas only 20 per cent of the adults reported having experienced this.
‘We found that this effect was not due to the adolescents using more cannabis than the adults.
‘Also, 80 per cent of the adolescents reported devoting a great deal of time to getting, using or recovering from cannabis use, compared to 50 per cent of the adults.
‘This is concerning as this group may not be aware of the symptoms of cannabis use disorder and may perceive cannabis to be associated with a low level of risk for harm.
‘We hope these findings will increase awareness among young people of the potential risks from cannabis use, encouraging them to consider ways they can mitigate these risks such as stopping or reducing use.’
Cannabis use disorder — a recognised psychiatric disorder — occurs when people cannot stop using marijuana even though it is causing health and social issues such as affecting their work and relationships
Experts speculate that adolescents are particularly vulnerable to cannabis use disorder because their brains are still developing.
Latest figures show cannabis remains the most popular drug among 16 to-59-year-olds in England and Wales.
It was highest among 20 to 24-year-olds last year with almost one in six people in this group using it, official figures show.
Last year, 32 deaths in England and Wales and around 300 in the US were attributable to weed.
Studies also show those who use cannabis daily — and mostly smoke it — are 25 percent more likely than non-users to have a heart attack, and 42 percent more likely to suffer stroke.
A 2019 study by researchers at Kings College London also found daily use of high-potency weed can increase the risk of psychosis by five-fold.
