HALIFAX— Young people who start using cannabis early and continue using it often throughout their adolescence are more likely than their peers to be less successful in their education and work lives and to suffer poor health outcomes.

Those are among the findings of a 10-year study of cannabis use among youth undertaken by a team of researchers led by psychology professor Dr. Kara Thompson of St. FX University in Antigonish, N.S., and Dr. Bonnie Leadbeater at the University of Victoria.

The researchers called the results of their study “troubling.”

“I think we were surprised about how many of our young people were really using in ways that were incredibly high risk, so one in 10 of our young people were what we call our chronic users,” Thompson said in an interview.

“By 13, they’re already using more than once a week and they continue to use more than once a week through their entire young adult period with no signs of declining at all.”

Researchers looked at a decade of data from the Victoria Healthy Youth Survey, which for 10 years followed a cohort of 662 young people who were between the ages of 12 and 18. They were interviewed every two years about their substance use, mental health, accomplishments and general well-being.

Although the research looked at a group of B.C. youth, Thompson said results would be similar here in Nova Scotia.

“If you look at the most recent trends from the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey, Nova Scotia reports that 22 per cent of Grade 7 to Grade 12 students have used cannabis, and in B.C. it’s 20 per cent,” Thompson said.

“So current stats would suggest that at least in the Maritimes, we tend to be quite on par with B.C.”

Thompson said in order to really understand long term impacts of cannabis use among youth, researchers needed to follow them over a period of time to examine how they’re using the substance and how their usage patterns shift over time.

“That’s really the uniqueness of this data set is that it’s one of the few that’s followed Canadian youth over a time when they’re so particularly vulnerable to substance use,” she said.

“It’s also a really formative time when they establish all their foundations for healthy lifestyles, for economic well being, things like getting an education or establishing first time jobs. So understanding how substance use develops and shifts is really key to being able to change patterns, to preventing high risk use.”

Thompson said young people who follow what are considered high-risk cannabis patterns often begin using other substances like alcohol in adolescence. When compared to abstainers, frequent users are also “much more likely” to experience depression, anxiety and behavioural problems and tend to have higher debt and less income.

With the legalization of cannabis expected later this year, Thompson said it’s even more important for people to acknowledge the risks associated with cannabis use in young people, particularly among those who are considered chronic or “risky” users.

“If we’re going to produce and distribute a psychotropic substance, we kind of have a social and moral obligation to prevent harm to vulnerable populations. Part of that is warning messages,” Thompson said.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“We have warning messages for hot tubs, for cigarettes and opiates, for prescription meds about the side effects of these medicines, and it’s not unusual that we should expect to see the same for cannabis.”

Thompson said they hope the study’s findings will help inform government and other public health officials as they plan current and future cannabis policies.

Yvette d’Entremont is a Halifax-based reporter covering health, environment and education. Follow her on Twitter: @ydentremont

Read more about: