Disjointed Cannabis and the Adolescent Brain Addictions Foundation - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Disjointed

Cannabis and the Adolescent Brain

Addictions Foundation of Manitoba

Goals

• Understand what cannabis is
• Appreciate what the new legal status of cannabis means
• Think more critically about some of the claims made about

cannabis

• Understand what cannabis does to teenage brains
• Recognize when problems might be developing and how to limit

the potential harms from using cannabis

What is cannabis?

Cannabis

• AKA – marijuana, grass, weed, pot, hash, ganja, joint, dabs, shatter,

budder

• Cannabis products are derived from various species of the Cannabis plant.
• The main active ingredient in cannabis is THC (∆9 tetrahydrocannabinol)

– THC is responsible for the “high” – It has few therapeutic effects – There are hundreds of other compounds in the cannabis plant

• CBD is another important component

– It has no psychoactive (mind-altering) effects & might counteract some negative effects of THC – CBD may be responsible for many of the medical/therapeutic effects of cannabis

What about legal status?

Protecting Youth: Canadian Laws 2018

• No person could sell or provide cannabis to any person under the age of

19.

– Parent to their own children – Parent to children at a party at their house – Coach to team athletes – Young adults to youth < 19 years

• 2 new criminal offences, with maximum penalties of 14

years in jail, for:

– giving or selling cannabis to youth, and – using a youth to commit a cannabis-related offence

Protecting Youth: Advertisement Canadian Laws 2018

• The Act will also prohibit:

– products that are appealing to youth (e.g., gummy bears) – packaging or labelling cannabis in a way that makes it appealing to youth – selling cannabis through self-service displays or vending machines – promoting cannabis, except in narrow circumstances where the promotion could not be seen by a young person

• Penalties for violating these prohibitions include a fine up to $5

million or 3 years in jail.

How many people use it?

Past year cannabis use Manitoba & Canada, Grades 7-12

Source: Bonham A et al. (2016)

Prevalence of cannabis use in Canada: Grades 7-12, 2014-15

It’s legal so it’s safe

It is natural, so it’s harmless

Cannabis is not addictive

9% 17% 25%

What’s the big deal? I smoked it in the 70s

Trends in cannabis potency: 1960-2011 (%THC & CBD)

Cannabis users, treatment admissions & average potency: 1986-2010

No-one has ever died from a cannabis

• verdose?

Cannabis causes brain damage?

Prohibiting cannabis keeps kids from using it

Effects of Cannabis

Cannabis effects on brain & body

Let’s talk about brains!

Language Vision & eyesight Good decisions

(and bad decisions)

Wait

WANT

Brains are like cities

BRAINS ARE LIKE CITIES!

What are neural pathways?

The teen brain… “Under construction”

Pruning

improved processing efficiency

Myelination

improved processing speed

The path to craving…

• When we’re stressed, our

brains take us down well-used pathways

• Our brains are able to identify

the quickest/easiest path to feeling better (like Google Maps)

• When cannabis use is the

quickest path, we experience this as a craving

Negative health effects

Factors Affecting Risk

– Body weight & size – Age – Gender – General health & nutritional habits – Mental state (depression, anger, grief) – Tolerance – Types of product used – How often cannabis used

Signs of a Problem

Canada’s Lower Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines

So, what should we do?

We need to:

• Understand – how problems with

Cannabis develop

• Be Aware – of the potential harms of

Cannabis

• Seek – healthy ways to deal with stress

and problems

• Delay – use of Cannabis until teen

brains have a chance to fully develop (21+ years old)

Questions?