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Adolescents and Marijuana: Its Prevalence, Underpinning Causes, Effects and Implications on the Next Generation

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Adolescents and Marijuana: Its Prevalence, Underpinning Causes, Effects and Implications on the Next Generation Vol. 12(3), pp. 45-52, July-September 2020 DOI: 10.5897/IJPC2020.0609 Article Number: 851FC4C64259 ISSN 2141-2499 Copyright © 2020 International Journal of Psychology and Author(s) retain the copyright of this article http://www.academicjournals.org/IJPC Counselling Review Adolescents and marijuana: Its prevalence, underpinning causes, effects and implications on the next generation Sefa Bulut* and Ali Cissey Usman Department of Counseling and Guidance Psychology, School of Educational Sciences, Ibn Haldun University, Istanbul, Turkey. Received 11 May, 2020; Accepted 16 June, 2020 It is customarily challenging and fruitless to prevent young adults and teens from drug experimentation. Yet, the onset of marijuana or cannabis use by school-age young adults and teens could be delayed with holistic interventions that aim at involving stakeholders (that is schools, families, agencies, media, etc.). The objective of this review was to sum-up continental comparative data on the prevalence of cannabis or marijuana use among young adults. Although continental studies on the prevalence, causes, effects, and preventions of marijuana use are limited, there is evidence to suggest that marijuana use is still on the rise among young people globally, especially in Africa, Europe, and America. False gratification such as, its harmless effects, its ability to aid performance, and its ability to protect one against superstitious forces are factors among others that lead adolescents to its experimentation. Key words: Adolescents, marijuana, cannabis, prevalence. INTRODUCTION In the past 2 to 5-decade, adolescents’ narcotic drug substance that is associated with the forenamed menace abuse and addiction have emerged as a thematic social to adolescents and societies is marijuana. canker affecting both developed and developing For generations now, marijuana also known as countries of the world due to its possibilities of triggering cannabis, has been a prohibited substance in most parts behavioral problems ranging from addiction to of the world because of its noxious nature. However, the dependence that does not only affect health and model turnover is advancing faster as several states and nations the users functioning but also leave the societies in which have or are amending regulations to soften restricted they live at risk. laws against its use and production; thereby leaving Besides, the use of the narcotic substance by young adolescents at the receiving end. people between 10 and 24 years of age has also been On its production and cultivation, between 1998-2007, cited as affecting the developmental phase that occurs as the Report on Global Illicit Market (2009) reported that the brain ripen and undergoes through emotional and marijuana is produced in over 170 countries around the cognitive maturity (Degenhardt et al., 2016). One of such world and its market uninterruptedly continued to receive *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. Author(s) agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License 46 Int. J. Psychol. Couns. new entrants ranging from developed and wealthy to be 14.6 million in 2015 (11.7%), with 8.8 million nations to under-developed and developing countries (15.2%) between the ages of 15-24 years (EMCDDA, (Connolly and Donovan, 2009). Marijuana is also officially 2015). viewed by WHO (2015) as a commonly grown, trafficked, In 2018, the European School Survey Project on and exploited drug in the world. This means its availability Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) among age 15-16- to adolescents will continue to be effortless. Therefore, years students from 35 European countries, 18% with the expectation that adolescents marijuana reported the use of cannabis at least once in a year, prevalence (that is lifetime and past year) may vary from while 8% reported cannabis use in the past month. time to time and region to region, it is important for a Higher lifetime prevalence among students in these 35 detailed update on its prevalence, the range of factors countries was reported in Czech Republic (37% in 2015), that drive its usage in terms of regional, cultural and Spain (31% in 2015), France (31% in 2016), Bulgaria continental influence as well as its effects and implication (27% in 2016), Slovakia (26% in 2015), the Netherlands to social workers and societies. In effect, this will (22% in 2016) and UK (19% in 2016) (European Drug indirectly outline significant dynamic inputs for its Report, 2018). At the least end of lifetime use, rates as interventions. low as below 10% were reported among 4 nations of the Nordic countries (Norway 7% in 2016, Finland 8% in 2015 , Sweden 5% in 2016, Romania 8% in 2016, Cyprus GLOBAL PREVALENCE OF MARIJUANA/CANNABIS 7% in 2016 and Greece 9% in 2015) (European Drug USE AMONG ADOLESCENTS Report, 2018). Contrary to the 2015-2018 European Drug and ESPAD A comprehensive global comparative data on studies, the prevalence of marijuana use among adolescents' marijuana/cannabis prevalence has often adolescents was reported to be 31% in France, 27% in been difficult to obtain because adolescents age groups Italy, 15% in Portugal, 13% in Malta, and 9% in Greece are divided differently across the world while other (Muscat et al., 2017), whereas data from the (EMCDDA) nations do not or barely perform surveys to track the statistical bulletin 2019 reported a lifetime prevalence of trends and prevalence. For this review, systematic cannabis among aged 15-24 years to range from 44.2 to evidences were examined across multiple national and 4.6% in 2016. On country basis, France 44.2%, the individual studies such as The UNODC World Drug Czech Republic 39.2%, and the Netherlands 31.5% were Report (2018; 2019), EMCDDA European drug report countries with a higher lifetime cannabis prevalence (2018), Drug Statistical Bulletin (2019), ESPAD Group among the fore mentioned age group in 2016, while low Report (2016), Australian Criminal intelligence rates were reported in Romania 8.9% and Portugal commission report on illicit drugs (2017-2018), CICAD 13.2%. report on drug use (2019), etc. to make conclusions on However, on past month usage, an estimated 7% the trends and prevalence. adolescents aged 15-16 years were reported to have The predefined theme to search for relevant studies on used cannabis in the past month with France 17% and the topic started generally with “cannabis/marijuana and Italy 15% among the highest in their 15–16 year olds; adolescents, prevalence across the world” and ended while lower figures were reported in Sweden and Finland with a more focus on continental findings. Since there (ESPAD, 2016). Among adolescents aged 15-24 years, was no unique adolescents classification across the past-month cannabis use was also estimated as: Italy world, the selection criteria for age ranged between 10-24 11.7% in 2017, Denmark 7.8% in 2017, Czech Republic years while more priorities were given to studies and 10% in 2016, Netherlands 9.2% in 2016, Bulgaria 8% in findings not older than 5-years with age classification 2016 and UK 7.6% in 2016 (EMCDDA Statistical Bulletin below 20 years. In monitoring the trend, the aims were to 2019). pinpoint studies which reported the following indicators: Regarding the trend in Europe, the lifetime any cannabis/marijuana use, how regular, and at what cannabis/marijuana prevalence among adolescents is age. drastically increasing as most figures are above 20%, with France and the Czech Republic being identified as countries with a high lifetime prevalence in most relevant Europe findings. This high prevalence in France may be attributed to the availability of cannabis/marijuana in the Cannabis indeed constitutes Europe's most commonly region, thereby making it easily accessible by consumed illicit drug. The drug's prominence is apparent adolescents. from its role in the seizures. For example, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC, 2019), Europe accounts for 15% of all cannabis herb and Africa resin confiscated in 2017. Moreover, cannabis/marijuana use among European adults aged 15-34 was estimated As long as lifetime cannabis prevalence in 2017 is Bulut and Usman 47 estimated to be around 44.9 million (6.4%) in Africa 2013), and 3% in 2016 (Mutale et al., 2016), while 9% among 15–64 years general population, with high lifetime prevalence with 13.4% in boys and 4.9% in girls prevalence in West and Central Africa (UNODC, 2019), it were also reported in Zimbabwe (Rudatsikira et al., means that adolescents' likelihood of cannabis/marijuana 2009). experimentation in the region would be paramount. In Nigeria, which accounts for about 60% of the Incidentally, the drug consistently remains the most population of West Africa, 10.8% of its general population abused drug by African adolescents compared to alcohol (10.6 million) were estimated to had used cannabis in the and cigarettes as last-month use in a sample population past year, with an average initiation age of 19 years of 25, 372 school-going adolescents in 9 African (UNODC, 2018). Even though cannabis/marijuana use countries (Ghana, Mauritania, Benin, Algeria, Namibia, and prevalence are reported across all age groups in the Morocco, Swaziland, and Mauritius) by Peltzer and country, the overall past-year use is high among young Pengpid (2018), who reported a prevalence of 4.1%, with adult of age 25 - 39 years with a prevalence of 19.3% in highest in Ghana (8.1%) and the lowest in Benin (1.9%). age 30-39 years; 14.3%, 25-29 years; 8.1%, 20-24 years; This viewpoint indicated a substantial shift thereby and 3.3%, 15-19 years (UNODC, 2018). The drug also suggesting an increase compared to a local survey in tops the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Ghana, which found a lower prevalence of 2.6 - 7.2% (NDLEA) list of narcotics seized in the country (NDLEA, (Doku, 2012) and a decrease in Morocco and Benin, 2016).
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