Maltreatment and Marijuana Use
Is the maltreatment of children linked with marijuana use later in life? Are behavioural problems and tobacco and alcohol consumption during adolescence associated with smoking marijuana?
These are questions that an Australian study, recently published in the journal Addiction, sets out to answer.
The investigation found that those who have previously been mistreated as children are more likely to use marijuana before the age of 17, are more likely to continue to use marijuana during adulthood, even taking the drug on a daily basis, and are more likely to meet medically-defined criteria for marijuana dependence.
Researchers also concluded that there is a significant link between behavioural problems, as well as tobacco and alcohol consumption, at age 14 and marijuana use.