Cann We Chat?

Students who start using cannabis early are 2x more likely to drop out of high school than those who don’t use cannabis.

Cannabis use has been shown to interfere with learning by impairing memory, attention, or other cognitive functioning – all of which can translate into poor schooling outcomes. Underage cannabis use also shares many risk factors with other risky health behaviors. Risk factors include antisocial behaviors (such as rebelliousness), family conflict, depressive symptoms, low neighborhood attachment, etc.

20-30% higher odds of a Motor Vehicle Crash while driving under the influence of Marijuana. 

Research studies have shown negative effects of marijuana on drivers, including an increase in lane weaving, slower reaction time, impaired depth perception, decreased coordination, and altered attention to the road. An analysis of these studies by Rogebers & Elvis (2016) found that the presence of THC metabolite in blood, saliva, or urine, was associated with 20 to 30 percent higher odds of a motor vehicle crash. Driving under the influence of cannabis is illegal in Montana – known as a DUIC. 

Increased risk for developing social anxiety disorder likely caused by consistent marijuana use.

Many people believe that cannabis use might help relieve stress and anxiety, but the reality is that this is just a short-term fix. In the long-term it can actually increase anxiety levels and impaired people’s ability to cope with stress. Learn more about stress, anxiety, and depression and Marijuana from this video.

1-in-6 people who start using Marijuana before the age of 18 become addicted.

When cannabis is used before the brain is fully developed (by age 25), it puts youth at a higher risk of becoming addicted. Repeated use of substances before the brain is done growing can permanently impact some parts of the brain, such as the reward circuit, due to increased levels of dopamine (aka the “happy” hormone). The reward circuit is one of the areas most affected by drug use and chemical changes in the brain. Increased dopamine levels shifts the balance between the stress and reward circuits, reducing impulse control, which can make a person with a substance use disorder seek the drug compulsively. Learn more about how addiction is a disease from this video.

Increased risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychoses is caused by Cannabis use; the higher the use, the greater the risk.

Studies have shown that cannabis use can worsen the symptoms of already diagnosed psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and have demonstrated an association with the development of other psychoses as well. There is an increased risk of any psychotic outcome in individuals who have ever used cannabis. This risk increases in people who use cannabis more frequently or in higher concentrations. People experiencing psychosis may suffer from delusions, hallucinations, disordered thinking, and other symptoms that make it difficult to function in daily life.

Heavy Marijuana users are more likely to report thoughts of suicide than nonusers.

As suicide is the 10th most common cause of death in the United States, and Montana had the second-highest suicide rate in the country in 2022 (only behind Wyoming), many studies have been conducted to test whether there is an association between cannabis use and suicidality. These studies demonstrate evidence of a dose–response effect, with heavy cannabis use being associated with a higher risk of suicidal ideation and suicidal attempts. This is specifically problematic for males. Among men, any cannabis use was significantly associated with the incidence of suicidality, whereas studies showed women indicated suicidality with daily or heavy use of cannabis.