Youth marijuana use: a review of causes and consequences

Abstract

The legalization of medical and recreational marijuana has raised concerns about a potential increase in the availability and illegal use of marijuana by adolescent minors. To better understand the etiology, patterns, and consequences of adolescent marijuana use, this article reviews high quality, methodologically rigorous, longitudinal studies that focus on the role of personality factors such as sensation-seeking in the etiology of use, developmental trajectories of use and the effects of chronic use, potential gateway effects of marijuana on other illicit drugs, and its role in the onset of psychiatric disorders in adolescents and young adults. Implications are discussed in terms of mechanisms that account for initial and continued use of marijuana by adolescents, how use is associated with key developmental milestones and adult role socialization, and the potential of marijuana use during adolescence in furthering later drug involvement.