More Young People Are Using Weed to Cope With Social Isolation and Anxiety

Key TakeawaysA national survey found that college-age students have been consuming more cannabis and drinking less alcohol.The record high of cannabis use may be attributed to social isolation and distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.While people use cannabis for therapeutic or medicinal purposes, health experts warn that the substance is not entirely risk-free.

Key Takeaways

A national survey found that college-age students have been consuming more cannabis and drinking less alcohol.The record high of cannabis use may be attributed to social isolation and distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.While people use cannabis for therapeutic or medicinal purposes, health experts warn that the substance is not entirely risk-free.

Marijuana use is at a historic high among teenagers and young adults. In the early months of the pandemic, college-age people consumed more marijuana than alcohol, according to a new national survey.

Some college students, who may have previously drunk alcohol in social contexts, may have become more comfortable using marijuana, or cannabis, during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, Volkow adds.

Aside from smoking, other cannabis consumption methods such as vaping and edibles have gained popularity among adolescents.

Volkow warns that ignorance about the side effects of cannabis may lead to the misconception that the substance is entirely risk-free. Cannabis is currentlypermitted in many states to various extentsbut remains illegal under federal law.

Safety of Vaping Marijuana vs. Smoking

Risks Associated With Cannabis Use

Studies have linked cannabis use to risks likepsychosis,suicidality,cyclic vomiting syndrome,andheart attacks.

Psychosis is one of the first risks to have been detected with cannabis, Volkow says. Daily cannabis use, especially with high-potency cannabis, is associated with high risks of developing apsychotic disorder.

Other risks, like cyclic vomiting syndrome, a condition in which a person cannot stop vomiting, are rare but growing in prevalence, Volkow says.

What Is Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome?Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a potential subset of cyclic vomiting syndrome, is rare and only occurs in long-term daily cannabis users. Currently, there’s not enough research on whether cannabis makes this condition better or worse.

What Is Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome?

Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, a potential subset of cyclic vomiting syndrome, is rare and only occurs in long-term daily cannabis users. Currently, there’s not enough research on whether cannabis makes this condition better or worse.

For people who have underlying heart problems, smoking or vaporizing cannabis may impair the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood and increase the risk of heart attacks.Cannabis smoke contains many of the same toxins and carcinogens in cigarette smoke, which can contribute to heart disease and cancer. However, there is limited information on the correlation between cannabis use and cancer.

Volkow adds that THC, the active ingredient of cannabis, can cause “vascular constriction,” the narrowing of blood vessels, whether it’s smoked, vaped or swallowed as an edible. “And when you produce vascular constriction, you interfere with circulation to the heart,” she says.

When evaluating the association between cannabis use and suicidality, however, it’s difficult to determine the cause and effect, Volkow says. Someone may have already had suicidal thoughts and used cannabis as a way to self medicate. More research is needed to understand the relationship, she adds.

Too Much Weed Could Increase Your Risk of Breakthrough COVID-19

How Do Doctors Use Cannabis?

Benjamin Caplan, MD,founder of CED Clinic, a medical cannabis clinic for both adult and pediatric patients in Massachusetts, says there’s no lack of public information on cannabis.

“There’s this grand misnomer in the world, which is there isn’t enough research about cannabis or we don’t know enough,” Caplan says. “The problem is actually that nobody’s reading it.”

Naming different cannabis strains like “Gorilla Glue” and “Lemon Haze” also distracts people from seeing marijuana as a medicinal substance, Caplan adds. “These are words that are laughable to a scientific mind,” he says.

Caplan uses cannabis to treat patients for conditions like chronic pain, insomnia, and depression, and always provides a library of research on the substance. His youngest patient was a 6-month-old who struggled with developmental delay and seizure disorder, and his oldest was a 104-year-old who had insomnia and chronic pain.

Studies say the potential for cannabis to be used as therapeutic agent in children must be evaluated carefully due to its potential harmful effects and limited data.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is conducting research on the efficacy and safety of cannabis in pediatric patients. It has previously acknowledged that medical marijuana may be an option for some children with “life-limiting or severely debilitating conditions.”

“Most people who come to cannabis wish they’d done so years and years before,” Caplan says. “The vast majority of people feel tremendous relief. They feel control and agency over their own illnesses in a way that they didn’t understand was possible.”

Caplan considers cannabis beneficial in recreational and medicinal use. This is similar to how exercise can be prescribed to a person in physical therapy or used as recreational fitness, he says.

“A better understanding of cannabis is that it’s a wellness agent. Whether they think they’re medicating or not, there is medicinal value,” Caplan says.

He notes that cannabis is not completely risk-free, and that people who have underlying conditions such as heart problems may be more likely to experience negative side effects from the substance.

“Cannabis tends to be one of the safer choices. But realistically, if someone were drinking gallons of water, they could also hurt themselves,” Caplan says.

“There’s really no substance that’s completely inert,” Caplan adds. “Relative to its competitors, cannabis is safe. Is it completely safe? No.”

How to Talk to Your Doctor About Marijuana

Will Cannabis Remain a Trend After the Pandemic?

But the demand for cannabis was climbing even before the pandemic, and more states have legalized cannabis for medicinal or recreational use. BDSA predicts a $28.6 billion market growth between 2021 and 2026 and potential federal legalization in 2022.

Caplan agrees the cannabis market has yet to reach its peak. “In terms of the grand trajectory of where cannabis is, I think we’ve barely begun," he says.

While the growth is expected to continue post-pandemic, an extreme resurgence of COVID-19 cases may accelerate cannabis use even further. The more stress the pandemic places on individuals, the more internal pressure they may feel to use drugs, Volkow says.

She remains optimistic that vaccinations can mitigate the coronavirus, and that the public will be resilient in navigating the pandemic in the months to come.

“We will also learn to live with it,” Volkow says. “We will learn to live with a certain level of uncertainty without having so much anxiety.”

What This Means For YouThe NIDA warns that excessive cannabis use can lead to rare and serious side effects. Doctors say that while cannabis has medicinal benefits, it’s not completely risk-free.

What This Means For You

The NIDA warns that excessive cannabis use can lead to rare and serious side effects. Doctors say that while cannabis has medicinal benefits, it’s not completely risk-free.

Does Weed Help With ADHD?

7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Patrick ME, Miech RA, Kloska DD, Wagner AC, Johnston LD.Trends in marijuana vaping and edible consumption from 2015 to 2018 among adolescents in the us.JAMA Pediatr. 2020;174(9):900. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.0175Forti MD, Quattrone D, Freeman TP, et al.The contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe (Eu-gei): a multicentre case-control study.The Lancet Psychiatry. 2019;6(5):427-436. doi:10.3390/ph5070719Han B, Compton WM, Einstein EB, Volkow ND.Associations of suicidality trends with cannabis use as a function of sex and depression status.JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(6):e2113025. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.13025Pattathan MB, Hejazi RA, McCallum RW.Association of marijuana use and cyclic vomiting syndrome.Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2012;5(7):719-726. doi:10.3390/ph5070719Ladha KS, Mistry N, Wijeysundera DN, et al.Recent cannabis use and myocardial infarction in young adults: a cross-sectional study.CMAJ. 2021;193(35):E1377-E1384. doi:10.1503/cmaj.202392Ravi D, Ghasemiesfe M, Korenstein D, Cascino T, Keyhani S.Associations between marijuana use and cardiovascular risk factors and outcomes.Ann Intern Med. 2018;168(3):187-194. doi:10.3390/ph5070719Page RL, Allen LA, Kloner RA, et al.Medical marijuana, recreational cannabis, and cardiovascular health: a scientific statement from the american heart association.Circulation. 2020;142(10):e131-e152. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000883

7 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Patrick ME, Miech RA, Kloska DD, Wagner AC, Johnston LD.Trends in marijuana vaping and edible consumption from 2015 to 2018 among adolescents in the us.JAMA Pediatr. 2020;174(9):900. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.0175Forti MD, Quattrone D, Freeman TP, et al.The contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe (Eu-gei): a multicentre case-control study.The Lancet Psychiatry. 2019;6(5):427-436. doi:10.3390/ph5070719Han B, Compton WM, Einstein EB, Volkow ND.Associations of suicidality trends with cannabis use as a function of sex and depression status.JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(6):e2113025. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.13025Pattathan MB, Hejazi RA, McCallum RW.Association of marijuana use and cyclic vomiting syndrome.Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2012;5(7):719-726. doi:10.3390/ph5070719Ladha KS, Mistry N, Wijeysundera DN, et al.Recent cannabis use and myocardial infarction in young adults: a cross-sectional study.CMAJ. 2021;193(35):E1377-E1384. doi:10.1503/cmaj.202392Ravi D, Ghasemiesfe M, Korenstein D, Cascino T, Keyhani S.Associations between marijuana use and cardiovascular risk factors and outcomes.Ann Intern Med. 2018;168(3):187-194. doi:10.3390/ph5070719Page RL, Allen LA, Kloner RA, et al.Medical marijuana, recreational cannabis, and cardiovascular health: a scientific statement from the american heart association.Circulation. 2020;142(10):e131-e152. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000883

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Patrick ME, Miech RA, Kloska DD, Wagner AC, Johnston LD.Trends in marijuana vaping and edible consumption from 2015 to 2018 among adolescents in the us.JAMA Pediatr. 2020;174(9):900. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.0175Forti MD, Quattrone D, Freeman TP, et al.The contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe (Eu-gei): a multicentre case-control study.The Lancet Psychiatry. 2019;6(5):427-436. doi:10.3390/ph5070719Han B, Compton WM, Einstein EB, Volkow ND.Associations of suicidality trends with cannabis use as a function of sex and depression status.JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(6):e2113025. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.13025Pattathan MB, Hejazi RA, McCallum RW.Association of marijuana use and cyclic vomiting syndrome.Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2012;5(7):719-726. doi:10.3390/ph5070719Ladha KS, Mistry N, Wijeysundera DN, et al.Recent cannabis use and myocardial infarction in young adults: a cross-sectional study.CMAJ. 2021;193(35):E1377-E1384. doi:10.1503/cmaj.202392Ravi D, Ghasemiesfe M, Korenstein D, Cascino T, Keyhani S.Associations between marijuana use and cardiovascular risk factors and outcomes.Ann Intern Med. 2018;168(3):187-194. doi:10.3390/ph5070719Page RL, Allen LA, Kloner RA, et al.Medical marijuana, recreational cannabis, and cardiovascular health: a scientific statement from the american heart association.Circulation. 2020;142(10):e131-e152. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000883

Patrick ME, Miech RA, Kloska DD, Wagner AC, Johnston LD.Trends in marijuana vaping and edible consumption from 2015 to 2018 among adolescents in the us.JAMA Pediatr. 2020;174(9):900. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.0175

Forti MD, Quattrone D, Freeman TP, et al.The contribution of cannabis use to variation in the incidence of psychotic disorder across Europe (Eu-gei): a multicentre case-control study.The Lancet Psychiatry. 2019;6(5):427-436. doi:10.3390/ph5070719

Han B, Compton WM, Einstein EB, Volkow ND.Associations of suicidality trends with cannabis use as a function of sex and depression status.JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(6):e2113025. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.13025

Pattathan MB, Hejazi RA, McCallum RW.Association of marijuana use and cyclic vomiting syndrome.Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2012;5(7):719-726. doi:10.3390/ph5070719

Ladha KS, Mistry N, Wijeysundera DN, et al.Recent cannabis use and myocardial infarction in young adults: a cross-sectional study.CMAJ. 2021;193(35):E1377-E1384. doi:10.1503/cmaj.202392

Ravi D, Ghasemiesfe M, Korenstein D, Cascino T, Keyhani S.Associations between marijuana use and cardiovascular risk factors and outcomes.Ann Intern Med. 2018;168(3):187-194. doi:10.3390/ph5070719

Page RL, Allen LA, Kloner RA, et al.Medical marijuana, recreational cannabis, and cardiovascular health: a scientific statement from the american heart association.Circulation. 2020;142(10):e131-e152. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000883

Meet Our Medical Expert Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit

What is your feedback?