July 2017
Teens at risk for marijuana-use disorder – People with cannabis- or marijuana-use disorder often have symptoms of withdrawal when they stop using the substance. In some cases, it can take the form of a severe addiction.
It has been suggested that 30 percent of marijuana users “may have some degree of marijuana-use disorder.”
The likelihood of developing marijuana-use disorder is four to seven times higher in people who start using the drug before the age of 18.
Dependence on marijuana develops when the brain adapts to the drug and reduces its own production of, and sensitivity to, similar compounds called endocannabinoid neurotransmitters, which it produces naturally.
