Listen Now
With cannabis becoming legal in more places in the U.S., you may think it isn’t a big deal if your tween or teen is smoking pot. Think again! A wealth of research shows that cannabis harms the teenage brain, but one of the more surprising — and alarming — findings is that regular use of marijuana is associated with a higher risk of psychosis. People who experience psychosis tend to see, hear, and believe things that are not true and not real. The risk is even greater in people who start smoking it at a young age.
2. Marijuana SPECT Surface Scan (Top Down)
A 2019 study shows that daily pot users were three times more likely to experience a psychotic episode than people who had never tried cannabis. The risk was higher in adolescents who started using the substance at age 15 or earlier.
Talking to your teen about drug use can be difficult. You don’t want to sound as if you’re preaching, and young people don’t respond well to unlikely scare tactics or threats. One of the best ways you can start a conversation and help your teen understand how damaging marijuana can be is to use pictures. Show them the brain scan of a healthy brain versus the brain of someone who is a regular cannabis user. Seeing is believing.
By sharing the images, you may be able to help them break their belief that pot is harmless. When young people realize a better brain brings a better life, they are more likely to want to take care of their brain with healthy habits.
Adapted from Dr. Dan Amen’s May 2020 blog: https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/think-your-teens-pot-smoking-is-no-biggie-studies-show-it-can-trigger-psychosis/
