Recent data show that young people in some countries are starting to use cannabis at a younger age than before and that more adolescents are using cannabis heavily.
In the United States, some seven percent of high-school seniors are daily or near-daily cannabis users, while in England, four percent of 11 to 15-year-olds report cannabis use in the past month.
In Australia, around one percent of 14 to 19 year olds are daily users of the drug, while four percent use it weekly.
Silins said any changes to cannabis legislation should be carefully assessed to ensure they will help reduce adolescent cannabis use and prevent its potentially adverse effects.
The study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal, analyzed data on up to 3765 participating cannabis users in terms of seven developmental outcomes up to the age of 30 years.
Those factors were completing high school, obtaining a university degree, cannabis dependence, use of other illicit drugs, suicide attempts, depression and welfare dependence.
It found clear and consistent associations between frequency of cannabis use during adolescence and most young adult outcomes investigated, even after controlling for potential confounding factors including age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, use of other drugs and mental illness.
Importantly, they also noted that risks increased relative to dose, with daily users showing the strongest effects.
Experts not involved in the research said its findings were particularly worrying given trends suggesting rising cannabis consumption.
"This new study ties in well with previous research into the mental health effects of heavy cannabis smoking during adolescence, a period where the mind and brain are still developing," said Michael Bloomfield, a psychiatrist at University College London. Continue reading
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