Trending News: Link drawn between weed and anxiety
When you were in high school, did you smoke marijuana? As you grew older, did you develop anxiety? If so, would your condition qualify as an anxiety disorder?
Well, according to a new study that has been released in the journal Neuropharmacology, your issues may be linked to smoking weed during adolescents.
“We have observed that adolescent mice treated with THC and exposed to stress display impaired fear extinction in adulthood. However, this effect was not observed in animals exposed to these same two factors separately,” said Fernando Berrendero, Francisco de Vitoria University.
Marijuana is the most commonly consumed illegal drug worldwide. Its regular use often begins during the teen years, which is especially concerning because it is during this time of life when the brain goes through major changes in development and reorganizes the neuronal synapses.
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“Our findings highlight the influence of environmental factors such as stress on the harmful effects of the exposure to cannabis during early ages and suggest that the consequences of early cannabis use greatly depend on the environment of its use”, explains Rafael Maldonado, full professor of Pharmacology at UPF. “The presence of stress situations, common among consumers of the substance, may worsen the harmful effects of cannabis”, he concludes.
According to a press release about the study, “Numerous preclinical and epidemiological data suggest that exposure to cannabinoids in adolescents may increase the risk of the onset of psychiatric illnesses in adulthood.
The results of the National Drugs Plan show an increase in the consumption of cannabis and a recent review highlights that in recent years the perception of the risk of its consumption has diminished among the young population, from 12 to 17 years of age, the age group discussed in this article.”
Do you think there is a link between teen weed use and the development of anxiety later in life?
