Puberty as a highly vulnerable developmental period for the consequences of cannabis exposure.
Miriam Schneider
Addiction Biology June 2008 DOI: 10.1111/j.1369-1600.2008.00110.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | The authors argue that because the endocannabinoid system undergoes maturation during critical postnatal periods, the developing brain is highly susceptible to cannabis. They contend that early cannabis use may have lasting cognitive consequences, increase the risk of neuropsychiatric disorders, promote further illegal drug intake, and raise the likelihood of cannabis dependence, making young people more vulnerable than adults to adverse effects. |
Abstract
During puberty, neuronal maturation of the brain, which began during perinatal development, is completed such that the behavioral potential of the adult organism can be fully achieved. These maturational events and processes of reorganization are needed for the occurrence of adult behavioral performance but simultaneously render the organism highly susceptible to perturbations, such as exposure to psychoactive drugs, during this critical developmental time span. Considering the variety of maturational processes occurring in the endocannabinoid system during this critical period, it is not surprising that the still-developing brain might by highly susceptible to cannabis exposure. Emerging evidence from human studies and animal research demonstrates that an early onset of cannabis consumption might have lasting consequences on cognition, might increase the risk for neuropsychiatric disorders, promote further illegal drug intake and increase the likelihood of cannabis dependence. These findings suggest that young people represent a highly vulnerable cannabis consumer group and that they run a higher risk than adult consumers of suffering from adverse consequences from cannabinoid exposure. The aim of the present review is to provide an overview over the possible deleterious residual cannabinoid effects during critical periods of postnatal maturation and to offer a more precise delineation of the vulnerable time window for cannabinoid exposure.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Causal association between cannabis and psychosis: examination of the evidence | 2004 | Review | |
| Cannabis sativa: A comprehensive ethnopharmacological review of a medicinal plant with a long history. General (historical and pharmacological review) | 2018 | Review | |
| Psychiatric effects of cannabis | 2001 | Review | |
| Beyond THC: The New Generation of Cannabinoid Designer Drugs | 2011 | Review | |
| Cannabidiol, a Cannabis sativa constituent, as an antipsychotic drug | 2006 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 34
- Gone to Pot – A Review of the Association between Cannabis and Psychosis Frontiers in Psychiatry May 22, 2014
- Neuroimaging in cannabis use: a systematic review of the literature Psychological Medicine July 23, 2009
- Endocannabinoid system and psychiatry: in search of a neurobiological basis for detrimental and potential therapeutic effects Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 2011
- Cannabis use and vulnerability for psychosis in early adolescence—a TRAILS study Addiction December 10, 2012
- Rates and correlates of cannabis-associated psychotic symptoms in over 230,000 people who use cannabis Translational Psychiatry September 6, 2022
and 29 more in the library
Cites 6
- Causal association between cannabis and psychosis: examination of the evidence The British Journal of Psychiatry January 30, 2004
- Cannabis reinforcement and dependence: role of the cannabinoid CB1 receptor. Addiction Biology June 2008
- Cannabis and psychiatric disorders: it is not only addiction. Addiction Biology June 2008
- Differential anxiogenic, aversive, and locomotor effects of THC in adolescent and adult rats. Psychopharmacology May 2007
- Adolescent cannabis exposure alters opiate intake and opioid limbic neuronal populations in adult rats. Neuropsychopharmacology March 2007
and 1 more in the library