Changes in Cannabis Use Among Young People
Changes in Cannabis Use Among Young People
The rates of cannabis use among adolescents attending mental health services is well established, with recent evidence of 7% of young adolescents across a large early intervention mental health service using cannabis at least weekly. One of the clinical implications of this is that persistent cannabis use has been linked to poorer intervention outcomes and levels of service engagement.
A further behaviour that should be targeted amongst those who present to any health or social services with cannabis use as part of their presentation is intimate partner violence. Data from four waves of adolescents involved in the US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health revealed that consistent use of cannabis during adolescence was most predictive of involvement in intimate partner violence as either victim or perpetrator, independently of alcohol use. Further, consistent cannabis use was related to an increased risk of being only a perpetrator of such violence. Of note, males were more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence than perpetrators compared with females.
Issues for Service Delivery
The rates of cannabis use among adolescents attending mental health services is well established, with recent evidence of 7% of young adolescents across a large early intervention mental health service using cannabis at least weekly. One of the clinical implications of this is that persistent cannabis use has been linked to poorer intervention outcomes and levels of service engagement.
A further behaviour that should be targeted amongst those who present to any health or social services with cannabis use as part of their presentation is intimate partner violence. Data from four waves of adolescents involved in the US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health revealed that consistent use of cannabis during adolescence was most predictive of involvement in intimate partner violence as either victim or perpetrator, independently of alcohol use. Further, consistent cannabis use was related to an increased risk of being only a perpetrator of such violence. Of note, males were more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence than perpetrators compared with females.
