#67 Notable Clinical Interest
Emerging findings or policy developments worth monitoring closely.
# Clinical Summary Recent epidemiological data indicate that cannabis use disorder (CUD) prevalence is increasing among adult populations in the United States, representing a significant shift in substance use patterns that clinicians should monitor. This rising trend has direct implications for primary care and specialty practices, as patients with CUD may present with psychiatric comorbidities, cognitive effects, and withdrawal symptoms that complicate management of other medical conditions. The increasing prevalence suggests that routine screening for cannabis use and problematic use patterns should become standard practice, particularly given the normalization and legal availability of cannabis in many states. Clinicians should be equipped to recognize CUD diagnostic criteria and understand its neurobiological effects to counsel patients appropriately and refer those meeting disorder criteria to evidence-based treatments. The practical takeaway is that clinicians should incorporate standardized cannabis use screening into their standard intake assessments and maintain awareness of CUD as an emerging public health concern affecting adults across their practices.
“What we’re seeing in the epidemiological data is a genuine uptick in cannabis use disorder diagnoses among adults, and this deserves our clinical attention, though we should be careful to distinguish between increased use, problematic use, and actual diagnostic disorder. The shift likely reflects both changing legal landscapes and evolving patterns of consumption, but we need more granular data on frequency, potency, and individual risk factors before we can make targeted prevention and treatment recommendations in primary care.”
💊 Rising prevalence of cannabis use disorder among US adults warrants increased clinical attention in primary care and mental health settings, though the underlying drivers of this trend—whether reflecting increased use overall, changing potency of available products, or improved case identification—remain incompletely understood. Clinicians should recognize that cannabis use disorder exists on a spectrum and that DSM-5 diagnostic criteria may not capture all problematic use patterns, particularly among individuals using high-potency products or those with concurrent substance use or psychiatric conditions. Importantly, patient attitudes toward cannabis as a “natural” or safer alternative to other substances can complicate motivational interviewing and may require specific education about dependence potential and cognitive effects. Given the rising incidence, incorporating routine cannabis screening and brief intervention into standard clinical workflows—similar to alcohol and tobacco assessment—represents a practical and evidence-supported approach to identifying affected patients and initiating treatment discussions early in the course of disorder development.
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