28 Oct Frequent Cannabis Use by Teenagers Linked to Increased Mental and Physical Health Problems
Editor’s note: This piece discusses mental health issues. If you have experienced suicidal thoughts or have lost someone to suicide and want to seek help, you can contact the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741-741 or call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.
Dr. Massimiliano
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Massimiliano Orri, PhD
Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry
McGill University
Principal Investigator at the Douglas Research Centre
within the McGill Group for Suicide Studies.
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What types of medical conditions were associated with the early cannabis use?
Response: We already know that cannabis use can be linked to both mental and physical health problems. But what about problems severe enough to require medical attention? In this study, we wanted to see whether young adults who had used cannabis during their teenage years were more likely to seek medical care for mental or physical health issues. Using medical service data allows us to look at more serious cases – those that required professional attention and were diagnosed by healthcare providers. It also helps us understand the broader impact of early cannabis use on the healthcare system
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?
Response: We found that teenagers who use cannabis tend to follow two main patterns. One group starts using around age 15 and uses frequently, while another starts later, around age 17, and uses less often.
Young people with the early and frequent pattern were more likely to need medical care for mental health problems. These included common conditions such as depression and anxiety, as well as more severe ones like psychosis, substance use disorders, and self-harm. In contrast, those who started later and used less often did not have a higher risk for mental health problems. When it came to physical health, both early and late cannabis users were more likely to need medical care for physical problems, especially for unintentional injuries, such as accidents. Importantly, these findings take into account pre-existing differences between youth, such as their sociodemographic background, family environment, and prior mental health, showing that the associations we observed are not simply explained by these factors.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: The key message is that cannabis use, especially when it starts early in adolescence and is frequent, can have important consequences for young people’s mental and physical health. These problems can be serious enough to require medical care and may already appear in young adulthood, before the age of 25.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a results of this study?
Response: Future research should follow people further into adulthood, when chronic medical conditions typically begin to appear and become more common. This would help provide a more complete picture of the long-term consequences of cannabis use that may not yet be visible in young adulthood.
MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add? Any disclosures?
Response: The findings suggest that delaying the start of cannabis use and reducing how often it is used could help lower the risk of long-term harms. This is especially important for youth who are more likely to follow a pattern of early and frequent use.
Citation:
Martínez PChadi NCastellanos-Ryan N, et al. Health Service Use Among Young Adults With a History of Adolescent Cannabis Use. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(10):e2539977. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.39977
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Last Updated on October 28, 2025 by Marie Benz MD FAAD
