Mental health of teenagers who use cannabis : results of an Australian survey

Declaration of interest :The Commonwealth of Australia funded the survey. Background :There is concern in the community about increasing cannabis use and its potential effect on health.Aims : To ascertain the prevalence of cannabis use among Australian adolescents, associations with mental health problems, risk behaviours and service use. Method : Examination of data from a national representative sample of households comprising 1261 adolescents aged 13-17 years. Parents completed a psychiatric interview and questionnaires while adolescents completed questionnaires. Results : One-quarter of the adolescents in the sample had used cannabis. There were no gender differences. Use increased rapidly with age, was more common in adolescents living with a sole parent and was associated with increased depression, conduct problems and health risk behaviours (smoking, drinking) but not with higher use of services. Conclusions : Cannabis use is very prevalent. The association with depression, conduct problems, excessive drinking and use of other drugs shows a malignant pattern of comorbidity that may lead to negative outcomes.