Introduction

Early cannabis use is associated with mental health and substance use (MHSU) challenges into adulthood. Given the vulnerability of youth who use cannabis, it is important to understand their clinical profiles and markers of risk. This cross-sectional descriptive study examines youth who began using cannabis during early adolescence compared to those who initiated at an older age.

Methods

634 youth and emerging adults (age M = 19.5, SD = 2.3; 46.5% female) were assessed at intake in a Canadian youth mental health and concurrent disorder out-patient service. Measures of demographic characteristics and MHSU were compared for youth who initiated cannabis use under the age of 14 versus 14 years or over.

Results

Nearly 30% of youth initiated cannabis use before age 14. Those who initiated cannabis early were younger and had distinct psychosocial risk factors. They were more likely to use cannabis (p = .005), tobacco (p = .006), powder cocaine (p = .030), and/or benzodiazepines (p = .033) at a high frequency. If they used other substances, they were more likely to have begun using them younger (all p < .001). Early initiators had more externalizing mental health symptoms (p = .024), crime/violence concerns (p < .001), and past trauma (p = .001).

Conclusions

Distinct, clinically meaningful differences emerged between youth who initiated cannabis use early versus later. Early cannabis use is associated with multiple, overlapping needs. Cannabis use and concurrent MHSU should be systematically assessed from an early age, and prevention/promotion efforts should take early onset into account.

中文翻译：

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早期提倡大麻：寻求服务的年轻人的物质使用和心理健康状况。

介绍

早期使用大麻与成年后的心理健康和物质使用（MHSU）挑战有关。鉴于使用大麻的年轻人易受伤害，了解他们的临床概况和危险标志很重要。这项横断面描述性研究调查了青春期初期开始使用大麻的人与年龄较大时开始使用大麻的人。

方法

 在加拿大青少年心理健康和并发性疾病门诊中评估了634名青年和新兴成年人（年龄M  = 19.5，SD = 2.3；女性46.5％）。比较了14岁到14岁或以上开始使用大麻的青年的人口统计学特征和MHSU。

结果

将近30％的年轻人在14岁之前开始使用大麻。那些提早开始使用大麻的人年龄较小，具有明显的社会心理风险因素。他们更有可能 频繁使用大麻（p = .005），烟草（p  = .006），可卡因粉（p  = .030）和/或苯二氮卓（p  = .033）。如果他们使用其他物质，则他们很可能已经开始更年轻地使用它们了（所有p  <.001）。早期发起者具有更多的外部心理健康症状（p  = .024），犯罪/暴力问题（p  <.001）和过去的创伤（p  = .001）。

结论

提早使用大麻与后来使用大麻的青年之间出现了明显的，临床上有意义的差异。大麻的早期使用与多种重叠需求相关。应当从小就对大麻的使用和同时发生的MHSU进行系统的评估，并且应该在早期就考虑到预防/宣传工作。