Socially-Active Teens More Likely to Smoke Pot

Worrying statistics show that the use of marijuana among teenagers has increased dramatically between 2002 and 2006, a cause for concern, as far as parents and authorities go. Although most of the teens use the drug for recreational purposes, and only on occasions, the phenomenon is still considered to be very dangerous. A new scientific report, published in the February issue of the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, shows that young adults who go out more often and with more friends than the average are more likely to consume pot occasionally, or even pick up continuous use. The results have been based on the youngsters' own reports on the matter.

Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drugs Problems investigator Emmanuel Kuntsche, PhD, has been in charge with the new, massive study, which has incorporated data gathered from 93,297 15 year-old students, from 31 different countries, in areas such as Europe and North America. They were asked to answer a questionnaire in 2002, which was followed up by another set of questions, in 2006. Among the various topics of discussion, the researchers also introduced some regarding the amount of time they spent outside the home per week, in social environments, as well as the number of friends these teenagers usually went out with.

"The more frequently adolescents reported going out with their friends in the evenings, the more likely they were to report using cannabis. This link was consistent for boys and girls and across survey years. Across countries, changes in the mean frequency of evenings spent out were strongly linked to changes in cannabis use," the paper reads. "One factor that may help explain why adolescents engage in cannabis use is association with cannabis-using peers, which can increase the availability of cannabis and socially influence use."

"This overview of trends in 31 countries and regions provides policy makers with important information on the prevalence and amount of change in cannabis use among boys and girls in their countries. There is a great need to learn more about the nature of evenings out with friends and related factors that might explain changes in adolescent cannabis use over time. Because there are many benefits to adolescent social interaction, it is important to determine how best to foster it without unduly increasing exposure opportunities for cannabis use," the authors say.