Young Adults Using Cannabis On The Rise

Most Americans are in favor of either medical cannabis programs, recreational use laws, or both. There may be a day that comes in the not too distant future when we see cannabis downgraded to a status similar to alcohol, decriminalized on the Federal level. Naturally, there exists two pretty good arguments for supporting or criticizing legislation that will bring about more relaxed marijuana laws. Each case should, and likely will be considered carefully before any national decisions are made in the future.

Maintaining the status quo of marijuana legality is harmful and has disrupted the lives of millions of Americans. The fact that people are serving lengthy sentences in prison for cannabis is almost hard to believe, and yet that is the reality of many Americans. Even though the drug is habit forming for some people and can lead to a cannabis use disorder, doesn’t mean that locking people up for using the substance is the right course.

However, it is vital that legislation in this country, and the rolling out of laws that allow for adult use, be guided by public health and addiction science experts. Americans need to be able to access the facts about the drug so that they can make informed decisions at an age when the brain is still not fully developed. Simply put, there are inherent risks to using cannabis; many Americans, especially young Americans, are unaware of such hazards.

 

Young Adult Cannabis Use

The majority of people who use cannabis recreationally do so in moderation. Your average smoker is lighting up first thing in the morning, maintaining a high throughout the day, and then using the drug just before bed. Just like with alcohol, most Americans exercise caution when it comes to using the drug. However, research shows that young people who use the drug are at a heightened risk of experiencing cognitive deficiencies, social problems, and developing a cannabis use disorder.

Teenagers and young adults, in states permitting medical use or people over the age of 21 years, need to understand better what is at stake before they begin using the drug regularly, or at all for that matter. Millions of people in this country currently meet the criteria for a cannabis use disorder; such people seek the assistance of addiction treatment centers regularly. With that in mind, it is clear that cannabis – as some purport – isn't benign; those who attempt to quit on their own will often experience withdrawal symptoms that can precipitate relapse before recovery takes root.

The addictive nature of cannabis use is incontrovertible, and young people are vulnerable; which is why it is concerning to learn that the Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey found that more non-college young adults are using the drug than ever. The MTF shows that daily, or near daily, marijuana use among non-college young adults is climbing. Last year, use reached its highest level (13.2 percent) among the mentioned demographic. Non-college attending young adults use marijuana at nearly three times the rate of college students.

Please take a moment to watch Dr. Nora Volkow discuss some of the findings of the survey:

If you are having trouble watching, please click here.

 

Cannabis Use Disorder

At Celebrate Hope, we can help men and women struggling with cannabis use disorder break the cycle of addiction. Please contact our skilled team of professionals to learn about our recovery programs and discuss treatment options.

Heroin: Educating Young People

The most recent Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey had promising results regarding young people using drugs and alcohol. When it comes to opioid narcotics, such as prescription painkillers and heroin, teenagers are using them at fairly low rates. In fact, heroin use (intravenous) rates among high school seniors was remarkably low at 0.3 percent in 2016, even though we are in the midst of an epidemic. Teenage use of prescription opioids seemed to be declining as well. All good news!

Considering the MTF findings, it is vital that young people continue to be given the message about the dangers of opioid narcotics; because the trends seen among high school age students are not mirrored in young adults. New research from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found that Americans using heroin has jumped by an exponential of five over the last ten years, according to a press release from the university. What’s more, the most drastic increases in heroin use and abuse was among:

• Young Adults
• Males
• Whites

"In 2001 to 2002, whites and non-whites reported similar prevalence of heroin use. However, in 2012-2013, increases in heroin and related disorders were particularly prominent among whites, leading to a significant race gap in lifetime heroin use by 2013," said Silvia Martins, MD, PhD, associate professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health.

The findings, published in JAMA Psychiatry indicated that people with low incomes and no more than a high school education were at a heightened risk. So, it is vital that young people are educated in high school about the insidious nature of opioid addiction. Across the country, many public high schools have begun to place a greater focus on opioids.

"Our results underscore the need to expand educational programs on the harms related to heroin use and access to treatment in populations at increased risk," said Dr. Martins. "Promising examples of prevention and intervention efforts include expansion of access to medication-assisted treatment -- methadone, buprenorphine or injectable naltrexone -- as well as educational campaigns in schools and community settings, and consistent use of prescription drug monitoring programs." 

In the states hardest hit by the opioid addiction epidemic, lawmakers are thinking about mandatory opioid abuse education in public schools, The Washington Post reports. Michigan, ­Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and South Carolina are all considering legislation that would include some form of opioid education in public schools throughout their states. Such programs could deter use both in high school, and later into young adulthood.

If you are one of the many young adults in this country struggling with opioid use disorder, then you are likely aware of the deadly nature of such drugs. Overdose is rarely a question of “if,” but rather a question of “when.” Please contact Celebrate Hope at Hope by The Sea to begin the lifesaving journey of addiction recovery.

Side Note: Today is World Health Day. We would like to encourage all of our readers to take a part in ending the stigma of mental illness, in order to help people seek help and recover. Stigma hurts us all, putting an end to it could help countless individuals around the world. You can find more information here.

Smartphones May Impact Teen Substance Use

Everyday millions of Americans of practically every demographic spend an inordinate amount of time on their smartphones. Between checking for the latest news and playing games, there are countless ways to waste time on the pocket-sized devices. In recent years, many experts have raised concerns about our reliance on smartphones. It cannot be denied that they are sometimes used to distract us from the really important life issues, whether that be responsibilities or our mental state. For some people, smartphone use turns into dependence and even addiction. With that in mind, we would be seriously remiss if we failed to mention that smartphones may actually be doing some good when it comes to drug and alcohol use.

With the United States in the continued grip of an opioid addiction epidemic, it is hard to pinpoint areas of progress when it comes to substance use and abuse, until you take a look at teenagers. Research has shown that teens are trying and using drugs and alcohol less and less over the last decade. “Monitoring the Future,” is an annual survey which essentially takes a snapshot of teenage (eighth, 10th and 12th graders) drug and alcohol use. The most recent findings indicate that past-year use of illicit drugs (excluding marijuana) was the lowest in several decades.

While education and prevention can account for some of that progress, it would seem there are other factors at play that could be responsible for the decline. Researchers have theorized that smartphones could be one of the major causes for a drop in teen substance use rates, The New York Times reports. They point out that the downswing of drug and alcohol use coincides nicely with the significant increase in smartphone use.

The director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Dr. Nora Volkow, has plans in the works to research the correlation between smartphones and substance use reductions, according to the article. Interactive media is, the director of NIDA describes, “an alternative reinforcer” to
mind-altering substances, “teens can get literally high when playing these games.” Dr. Volkow will share the findings with a group of scholars this spring.

Dr. Volkow’s theory is “highly plausible,” said Dr. Silvia Martins, an expert on substance abuse at Columbia University. “Playing video games, using social media, that fulfills the necessity of sensation seeking, their need to seek novel activity.”

We will continue to follow this interesting story in the coming months. Whatever the findings are, they will surely be of interest to those working in the field of addiction, or for those recovering from it. Parents will likely have a vested interest in Dr. Volkow's findings, as well.