All told, this study moves the needle on what is known about how measures of perceived general and specific risks and benefits correlate with each other as well as with measures of perceived prevalence, willingness, and behavioral intentions, and the comparative predictive utility of these constructs. Including a comprehensive range of conventional and newer tobacco and marijuana products in our study improves our understanding of AYA perceptions and motivations to use particular products. This study also paves the way for future work to look more closely at interactions between factors underlying theories of behavioral change and different tobacco and marijuana products. For example, social norms such as willingness to use substances and perceptions of prevalence most strongly predict initiating and/or escalating use of tobacco and marijuana, and this could plausibly be true for other drugs as well. Future studies may explore the extent of overlapping effects between risks, benefits, and social norms; such findings could provide a clearer understanding of AYA motivations and health behavior decision-making and could be used to address substance use in general. We also suggest measuring perceived likelihood of product-focused specific health and social outcomes to understand AYA motivations to use each tobacco and marijuana product. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health illness in the United States among young adults.
Approximately eighteen percent of the population has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. There are also many people who suffer from anxiety but are not qualified for a diagnosis. This greatly increases the percentage of people suffering from anxiety throughout the United States. There are a few different types of treatment for anxiety such as psychotherapy, vertical grow room design cognitive-behavioral therapy, and medication. Most patients are recommended a combination of therapy sessions and medication. There are various medications that can be prescribed to a patient with an anxiety disorder but one of the most controversial forms of medication across the United States is cannabis. Although there is research that identifies the medical benefits of cannabis use among patients suffering from anxiety, some research suggests that long-term use can lead to potential mental health risks and it can also result in memory loss thus questioning the medical benefits. The legalization of cannabis is a highly debated topic in the United States. As of June 2014, twenty-three states have legalized marijuana for medical purposes. While almost half of the United States has legalized cannabis for medical purposes, it still remains completely illegal throughout the other half and under federal law. Cannabis contains two imperative cannabinoids that makes it a legal source of medication in certain states. One is cannabidiol also known as CBD and the other is delta- 9-tetrahydrocannabinol also known as THC.
Even though the properties of marijuana were carefully examined before it was legalized as a form of medication, there is still some data that suggests there are negative effects from regular use of cannabis. For instance, the CBD cannabinoid content in marijuana is the primary source that activates the anxiety relieving symptoms in the hypothalamus of the brain. The study “Effects of Cannabidiol on Regional Blood Flow” conducted by de Souza Crippa, Zuardi, Garrido, Wichert-Ana, Guarnieri, Ferrari, Azevedo-Marques, Hallak, McGuire, and Busatto experimented on subjects to see if CBD had any correlations with anxiety. This study involved two groups of healthy people who were given both CBD and placebo. One group was given the CBD first while the other received the placebo first. The results show that “the administration of CBD was associated with significantly decreased subjective anxiety and increased mental sedation, while placebo was not” . When the people were given both CBD and placebo, the CBD was the chemical that reduced anxiety symptoms. From the SPECT scans done on the subjects, it was clear that this activity was occurring in the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is a significant brain structure that facilitates the effects of anxiety. When one experiences high levels of anxiety, it increases activity in the hypothalamic area. In the study they concluded, “The reduced hypothalamic activity that we observed is thus consistent with the anxiolytic effect of CBD” . Since the levels of anxiety correlate with hypothalamic activity, this study proves that consuming CBD will decrease hypothalamic activity and reduce anxiety. This is a major reason why medical marijuana is prescribed to patients with anxiety. However, while CBD drives to reduce anxiety, THC on the other hand contributes to increasing anxiety.
Although THC plays a role in treating many serious medical conditions such as insomnia and anorexia, it is also involved in increasing paranoia and anxiety. The article “Can Marijuana Treat Anxiety Disorders” discusses the different effects of the THC and CBD cannabinoids. It mentions, “THC seems to have opposite effects on anxiety levels depending on the dosage, with THC acting to decrease anxiety at lower doses yet increasing anxiety at higher doses” . When marijuana has a higher dosage of THC than CBD, it is identified as a sativa strand and it raises anxiety symptoms. Patients who suffer from anxiety are referred medical marijuana with a higher quantity of CBD and a less THC in order to relieve anxiety; this is recognized as an indica strand. Since THC is the main active chemical in marijuana, patients can often feel an increase in anxiety with regular use. This is where the controversy lies. Another significant issue with medical marijuana is that it can lead to substance dependence. Although marijuana does not contain any addictive elements, in regular users “abstinence leads to a withdrawal syndrome characterized by negative mood , muscle pain, chills, sleep disturbance and decreased appetite” . This means that eventually when a regular cannabis user stops using cannabis, they will experience a withdrawal syndrome that includes many negative moods. The study “Neural Effects of Positive and Negative Incentives during Marijuana Withdrawal” by Filbey, Dunlop, and Myers confirmed, “growing evidence support a marijuana withdrawal syndrome that may drive the high rate of relapse in marijuana dependent individuals” . When this marijuana withdrawal occurs, most patients decide to resume using cannabis to refrain from dealing with the negative effects. This then makes the patient dependent on cannabis leading to long-term usage, which can result in mental health risks such as depression, cognitive impairments, and memory loss. Many patients who suffer from anxiety begin to feel depressed and an increase in anxiety after long-term use of medical marijuana. In Marijuana and Madness by Degenhardt, Hall, Lynsskey, Coffey, and Patton, conducted studies to investigate if there were any connections between long-term marijuana use and depression. One of the studies established that “regular cannabis use increases the risk of depression” . Although the risk of developing depression depends on the amount of time one has been consuming marijuana, the percentage of people who develop depression is still incredibly high. One important study that was mentioned in this text was the Bovasso study. This study gathered important information on cannabis users and depression. “Approximately 67% of those with cannabis abuse but no depressive symptoms at baseline developed depression after 14-16 years” . This means that a majority of people who use cannabis for fourteen to sixteen years will develop depression even if they never had depressive symptoms to begin with. It is harmful to ones mental health to regularly use medical marijuana for more than fourteen years because it can result in depression. Another negative effect for long term users of cannabis is that they can experience memory loss and cognitive impairments. The excerpt “How marijuana relieves anxiety” by Lecia Bushak reports some important findings by Dr. Sachin Patel. He asserts, “Though the short-term effects may be relaxing, the long-term effects may not have an influence in affecting anxiety. Instead, cannabis racking systems long-term use of the drug can lead to memory loss and cognitive impairment” . The memory loss could be either short-term, long-term, or both. However, most patients experience short-term memory loss. According to Campbell and Blieden’s documentary film Super High Me, the experiment designed by Dr. Mitch Earleywire was created to see what effects medical marijuana has on memory, cognitive ability, and psychic ability . The subject, Doug Benson, went thirty days without using marijuana and then thirty days with constant consumption of marijuana. Dr. Gary Cohan found that Doug suffered from slight shortterm memory loss after using cannabis for thirty days.
Dr. Gary Cohan had asked Doug to count backwards from one hundred subtracting seven each time. However, Doug began to subtract nine instead of seven. This documentary film demonstrates that one can experience some memory loss within thirty days of constant cannabis consumption. According to current research, medical marijuana can relieve anxiety through the CBD cannabinoid but it can also have damaging long-term effects in regular users. Depression, cognitive impairments, increased anxiety, and memory loss are serious long-term consequences to consider when prescribing medical marijuana. Most states have legalized and distribute marijuana for medical purposes but it still remains illegal under federal law due to the restricted amount of research on this subject. Therefore, until there is more solid evidence that proves medical marijuana is beneficial, it should not be prescribed to patients with an anxiety disorder.Tobacco and marijuana use among U.S. young adults is a top public health concern ; young adults use both substances at higher rates than any other age group.The transition to young adulthood increases the susceptibility to engaging in health-risk behaviors including tobacco and marijuana use . Similarly,trends demonstrate an increase in marijuana use over the past decade.In 2013, 37% of all young adults in the U.S. ages 18–25 reported currently using some form of tobacco .Additionally, 19.1% of young adults reported using marijuana in the past 30 days in 2013. Tobacco use has been associated with cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and reproductive effects , and marijuana use has been associated with cognitive impairment, cardiovascular disease, impaired respiratory functioning, and adverse psychosocial development and mental health .Given the prevalence of these behaviors among young adults and their considerable health and social consequences, it is important to better understand factors associated with use, including whether shared cultural values, or feelings of marginalization with respect to such values may help explain high rates of use . Among young adults, members of racial/ethnic minority groups are at especially high risk for certain types of tobacco use, such as cigarette and marijuana use, as well as higher rates of co-use. Additionally, racial/ethnic minorities suffer disproportionately from tobacco-related illness and death, despite having higher rates of light and intermittent smoking compared to Non-Hispanic Whites . Racial and ethnic differences also exist in tobacco and marijuana use across groups. African American young adults have higher rates of current little cigar use compared to other racial/ethnic groups, while Latinoyoung adult males report higher rates of current and lifetimee-cigarette use . Current use of any tobacco product and marijuana use is highest for Mixed Race individuals . Race/ethnicity related stressors –stressors that are a function of the cultural background and the context of the individual that are unique to being a member of a racial/ethnic minority group — can make racial/ethnic minority young adults susceptible to tobacco and marijuana use . For example, perceived racial/ethnic discrimination is a type of racial/ethnic stress that has been linked to increased smoking and higher odds of lifetime marijuana use .The National Conference on Tobacco and Health Disparities highlighted a need for researchers to examine the social and cultural context of tobacco use among racial/ethnic groups .Past research has also stressed the problematic perspective of viewing tobacco or marijuana use as an isolated problem, rather than being viewed as a part of a larger, more complicated picture that includes social and cultural components . Additionally, health promotion researchers note that culturally specific interventions are important in addressing smoking-related health disparities. Culturally specific interventions refer to the degree to which ethnicity, attitudinal and behavioral norms, shared beliefs, history, and environment are integrated into the intervention . For example, the Pathways to Freedom is a smoking cessation guide developed for African Americans that incorporates known smoking patterns of African Americans, religious quotes, pictures of African Americans, and emphasizes family and community . Definitions of culture vary, but for the context of this paper, we focus on race/ethnicity, and the shared characteristics within these groups, which comprise religion, language, and nationality. The historical experiences of different racial/ethnic groups create unique physiological and social characteristics that can include lifestyle and value systems .