Frequency of Teen Cannabis Use Linked to Psychosocial Indicators

TUESDAY, Dec. 23, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Frequency of cannabis use is associated with adverse academic and impulsivity self-regulation indicators in a dose-dependent manner among adolescents, according to a study published online Dec. 23 in Pediatrics.

Ryan S. Sultán, M.D., from the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study using a U.S. nationally representative sample of eighth, 10th, and 12th grade students from the 2018 to 2022 Monitoring the Future survey to describe relationships between cannabis use frequency and psychosocial indicators.

Data were included for 162,532 respondents; 26.2 percent were cannabis users: 4.6, 3.6, and 4.8 percent were near-daily, weekly, and monthly users, respectively, and 13.2 percent were noncurrent users. The researchers found that noncurrent and monthly users had greater odds of poor academic performance, poor impulsivity and self-regulation, and adverse emotional states compared with nonusers (adjusted odds ratios, 1.30 to 2.20, 1.26 to 2.19, and 1.1 to 1.42, respectively). A consistent dose-response trend was seen for adjusted odds of all adverse psychosocial categories, excluding low social engagement. For poor academic performance, poor impulsivity and self-regulation, adverse emotional state, and low social engagement, effect sizes were small, small-to-medium, small, and none-to-small, respectively. Greater susceptibility for academic and emotional indicators was seen for younger users (<16).

“While previous studies have focused on the effects of frequent cannabis use among teens, our study found that any amount of cannabis use at all may put kids at risk of falling behind in school, and the kids using most often may have the greatest risk,” Sultán said in a statement. “A few “harmless” joints can snowball into real academic consequences. Teens using it regularly often struggle to focus, miss school, and may lose interest in their future plans.”

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