Adolescent cannabis use is associated with increased cannabis misuse as an adult, issues with memory and concentration, long-term cognitive complications, and poor psychiatric outcomes including social anxiety, suicidality and addiction.There are a lot of reasons why adolescents start a smoking habit. According to a study completed by Bill Sanders, influence from friends, difficult household problems, and experimentation are some of the reasons why this population starts to smoke marijuana. This segment of population seems to be one of the most influenceable group there is. They want to follow the group and look "cool", "hip" and accepted by their friends. This fear of rejection plays a big role in their decision to smoke pot. However it does not seem to be the most important factor. According to a study from Canada, the lack of knowledge about cannabis seems to be the main reason why adolescents start to smoke. The authors observed a high correlation between adolescents that knew about the mental and physical harms of cannabis and their consumption. Of the 1045 young participants in the study, those who could name the least number of negative effects about this drug were usually the ones who were consuming it. They were not isolated cases either. Actually, the study showed that the proportion of teenagers who saw cannabis as a high-risk drug and the ones who thought the contrary was about the same. Pregnancy
There is an association between smoking cannabis during pregnancy and low birth weight.
Risk factors
Certain factors are considered to heighten the risk of developing cannabis dependence and longitudinal studies over a number of years have enabled researchers to track aspects of social and psychological development concurrently with cannabis use. Increasing evidence is being shown for the elevation of associated problems by the frequency and age at which cannabis is used, with young and frequent users being at most risk.The main factors in Australia, for example, related to a heightened risk for developing problems with cannabis use include frequent use at a young age; personal maladjustment; emotional distress; poor parenting; school drop-out; affiliation with drug-using peers; moving away from home at an early age; daily cigarette smoking; and ready access to cannabis. The researchers concluded there is emerging evidence that positive experiences to early cannabis use are a significant predictor of late dependence and that genetic predisposition plays a role in the development of problematic use. High risk groups
A number of groups have been identified as being at greater risk of developing cannabis dependence and, in Australia, for example, have been found to include adolescent populations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and people with mental health conditions. Adolescents
The endocannabinoid system is directly involved in adolescent brain development. Adolescent cannabis users are therefore particularly vulnerable to the potential adverse effects of cannabis use.