#75 Strong Clinical Relevance
High-quality evidence with meaningful patient or clinical significance.
If you are a parent, caregiver, or young adult considering cannabis use, this research reinforces that delaying use until the brain is more fully developed, generally past age 25, is one of the most important harm reduction strategies available.
Large-scale longitudinal research continues to reinforce the clinical concern that adolescent cannabis exposure is associated with elevated risk of psychotic disorders and other serious mental health conditions in adulthood. From a neurobiological standpoint, the adolescent brain is undergoing critical endocannabinoid system maturation, and exogenous cannabinoid exposure during this window may disrupt neurodevelopmental trajectories in ways that increase vulnerability to psychosis, particularly in genetically predisposed individuals. This finding aligns with what we have observed clinically for years and underscores why age-appropriate guidance and delayed initiation remain cornerstones of responsible cannabis medicine.
“I have treated over 30,000 patients and I can tell you that cannabis is medicine for adults, but the developing adolescent brain is not the place to experiment, and studies like this one confirm what the clinical evidence has been telling us all along.”
🧠 A massive longitudinal study tracking over 400,000 adolescents reinforces the association between teen cannabis use and later psychotic disorders. The endocannabinoid system is still actively developing during adolescence, and disrupting that process with exogenous cannabinoids can have lasting consequences, especially in those with genetic vulnerability. ️ In my clinic, I consistently advise patients and families that cannabis medicine is intended for adult brains, and that delayed initiation is one of the most effective safety measures we can recommend. This is not an anti-cannabis finding; it is a pro-science, pro-safety finding that should guide how we talk to young people and their families. Responsible cannabis advocacy must include honest conversations about who should and should not be using these compounds.
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