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Marijuana Use by High Risk Kids May be Delayed With Short CBT Sessions

high risk kids, marijuana use, CBT sessions

A University of Montreal study has produced some suggestions about how to delay or even prevent marijuana use among high risks kids, and one answer may be short CBT sessions. Kids most at risk for using marijuana are typically prone to negative thinking and anxiety. Some believe this is why this group engages in marijuana use. Kids and adolescents who are highly impulsive or who are sensation seekers are also at a very high risk for substance abuse. It has been suggested that marijuana users may have a higher risk of neurocognitive deficits, psychiatric symptom exacerbation, psychosis precipitation, a lower educational attainment and occupational attainment, and motor vehicle accidents. Adolescents are at the highest risk because brain development is still occurring.

Lead study researcher Dr. Patricia Conrod explained the findings and suggestions. “Marijuana use is highly prevalent among teenagers in North America and Europe. As attitudes and laws towards marijuana are changing, it is important to find ways to prevent and reduce its use among at-risk youth. Our study reveals that targeted, brief interventions by trained teachers can achieve that goal. There were signs that the program delayed onset and reduced frequency of cannabis use in all youth who participated in the interventions, but the results also consistently showed that the program was particularly effective in preventing cannabis use among those most at risk of using — sensation seekers.”

The study regarding CBT sessions, marijuana use, and high risk kids provided interesting insight. First study author Ioan T. Mahu stated “The students voluntarily participated in two 90-minute cognitive-behavioral sessions that were adapted to their specific personality type. These sessions involved learning from real-life scenarios described by other at risk youth, and were designed to show how people manage risk. Cannabis was not directly mentioned but was discussed if the students brought it up.”

Is Marijuana Use Safer Than Alcohol?

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alcohol abuse, marijuana use

A recent study performed by New York University researchers documents the psychosocial impacts of marijuana use and alcohol use among high school seniors. The study can be found in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse as well as online sources. Some of the students who were involved in the Monitoring the Future Study were chosen to represent a national sample of seniors in high school across the country for this study. According to one of the study researchers, Joseph J. Palamar, Ph.D., M.P.H., “The paucity of research is of particular public health concern as alcohol and marijuana are the two most commonly used psychoactive substances among adolescents. Nearly half of high school seniors have used marijuana in their lifetime and over two-thirds have used alcohol, but few studies have compared adverse psychosocial outcomes of alcohol and marijuana directly resulting from use. The most alarming finding was that alcohol use was highly associated with unsafe driving, especially among frequent drinkers.

The latest study on marijuana use, alcohol abuse, and high school seniors shows that both drugs affect teens in different ways. Alcohol abuse among teens tends to interfere with social and personal relationships, and females who drank were far more likely to report feeling regret for their actions when drinking after they sober up. Marijuana use caused problems in educational and professional relationships rather than personal ones, and teens who used marijuana reported having less energy and a lower performance while at school or on the job. Palamer went on to say that “Not unexpectedly, we found that the higher the frequency of use, the higher the risk of reporting an adverse outcome. In particular, the relationship between frequent alcohol use and regret was much stronger than the relationship between frequent marijuana use and regret.”