Our adolescent youth in the U.S. face many challenges as they move into becoming transitional age youth (TAY) up to age 26. The opioid overdose crisis, especially with the persistence and increased prevalence of Fentanyl in the illicit U.S. drug supply is in the news and appropriately covered often to help with prevention and treatment to stem the tide of the deaths of our youth. Indeed, 10% of Americans will struggle with an addiction which demonstrates the fact that there is significant danger in experimentation with substances.
My focus in this article, however, is on the less covered and understood but crisis issues of how our young people in the U.S. are impacted by Marijuana and Methamphetamine use that can lead to substance use disorders (SUD) and co-occurring mental health issues and disorders with unhealthy consequences moving into adulthood.
Here are some important things to know about Marijuana/THC use in youth:
• Alcohol is no longer the most abused drug by American children. “Adolescent cannabis abuse has increased by a whopping 245% in the U.S. since 2000, with a particularly dramatic rise occurring in just the past few years according to data, published in December 2022 by the National Poison Data System. According to this data, “Since 2014, marijuana exposure cases have exceeded ethanol (alcohol) cases every year, and by a greater amount each year than prior.”
• Recent data from the National Institute Of Health (NIH) suggest that 30% of those who use marijuana may have some degree of marijuana use disorder. People who begin using marijuana before age 18 are 4 to 7 times more likely to develop a marijuana use disorder than adults, according to research. Additionally, according to a report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse published in March 2021, those aged 12 to 17 are more apt than those aged 18 to 25 to become addicted to marijuana within a year after using it for the first time.
• Researchers who analyzed National Poison Center data found that the number of people who had marijuana in their system when they tried to kill themselves has risen 17 percent every year since 2009. From 2019 to 2021, the number of suicide attempts involving cannabis among children 5 to 13 doubled.
Here are some important things to know about methamphetamine use in youth:
• NIH Research has shown young people are 13 times more likely to meet the criteria for a conduct disorder compared to young people who did not use methamphetamine. This research also found that young people are more likely to be involved in the justice system and to perpetrate violence against others than those who did not use methamphetamine. Lastly, this research found consistent associations between educational problems and youth methamphetamine use.
• For adolescents and TAY that started out being prescribed ADHD medication and were genetically and/or environmentally (epigenetics) predisposed to substance addiction and subsequently started to abuse their ADHD medication, health risks of stimulants like methamphetamine increase dramatically.
It is not uncommon for youth methamphetamine use and marijuana/THC use to go hand in hand with co-occurring mental health issues. Together, these can lead to SUD with co-occurring mental health disorders evolving from adolescence to Transitional Age Youth moving into adulthood.
The following are some things to know about SUD and co-occurring mental health disorders in youth and TAY:
• Considerable evidence has linked cannabis use to earlier onset of psychosis in people with genetic risk factors for psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia, as well as worse symptoms in people who already have these conditions. Although less consistent, there is also evidence linking cannabis use to other mental illnesses and self-harm, including suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
• According to this research study , daily high-potency cannabis use (like 80-90%+ THC dabs) increased odds of psychotic disorder to nearly five-times and are becoming more popular with youth. Methamphetamine use, especially intravenously, can also cause psychosis over time and sometimes bring on early on-set schizophrenia or serious mood disorders.
• Research has shown young people are 13 times more likely to meet the criteria for a conduct disorder compared to young people who did not use methamphetamine. This research also found that young people are more likely to be involved in the justice system and to perpetrate violence against others than those who did not use methamphetamine. Lastly, this research found consistent associations between educational problems and youth methamphetamine use.
• NIH Research shows that adolescents who abused cannabis as well as methamphetamine were susceptible to additional and more widespread cognitive dysfunction across several domains including verbal memory, planning and non-verbal reasoning.
Other societal issues play a part in youth developing SUD and mental health disorders. According to research from NIDA, racism and other forms of discrimination, isolation, childhood trauma, poverty and lack of access to education and healthcare can all play a role in increasing risk of developing mental illness and substance use disorders. The stigma that attaches to both substance use disorders and mental illness exacerbates these factors—making the person with mental illness and addiction even more isolated and vulnerable, and less likely to seek treatment.
In conclusion, it is essential that we do not lose site of the risks to our youth of not actively engaging in education, prevention and treatment of SUD and mental health disorders as early and holistically as possible, so they have the best chance of reaching adulthood and living a successful life. If we are able to do this as a country, it will go a long way towards also helping and healing the incarceration, homelessness and mental health crisis plaguing our youth as they move into adulthood.
Photo Credit: https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/all-things-work/pages/covid-19-brought-substance-abuse-to-light.aspx