The study was ignited by the constant evidence that suggested regular marijuana use in teenagers was directly linked to later mental problems such as schizophrenia and depression.
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Participants were divided into four groups based on their reported marijuana use: low or non-users (46 percent); early chronic users (22 percent); participants who only smoked marijuana during adolescence (11 percent); and those who began using marijuana later in their teen years and continued using the drug (21 percent).
Their findings published in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors were “a little surprising”, said lead researcher Jordan Bechtold, PhD, a psychology research fellow at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
The findings were documented after tracking 408 participants from adolescence into their mid-30s. Moreover, researchers found no link whatsoever between teen marijuana use and lifetime depression, allergy, anxiety, high blood pressure or headaches.
After numerous years of commentary finally it was learned that the persistent utilization of cannabis from the individuals were not made linked to medical conditions like melancholy, bronchial asthma or psychotic signs and symptoms inside of the later numerous years of their personal future. The outcome was the same regardless of the amount or frequency of pot use among adolescents.
Using marijuana in teen age has no harm. The team also controlled for other factors that could have influenced results such as cigarette smoking, other illicit drug use, and access to health insurance.
The new study is a continuation of an old study from the 1980s. The research which was based on an offshoot of the Pittsburg Youth Study where researchers also studied various social and health issues related to the students whose data they were analyzing. They noted that the rapid increase in use occurred during their teen years and statistically peaked at approximately 200 says annually by age 22.
But what’s unique about the study is that it followed its subjects as they grew up, whereas most studies conducted so far have interviewed grown ups who were asked to look back on their teenage years and answer questions about their marijuana use as best as they could remember. That could trigger other health issues.
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“We wanted to help inform the debate about legalization of marijuana, but it’s a very complicated issue and one study should not be taken in isolation”, Bechtold said.
