44% of cannabis consumers repeat course

According to the study (state survey on drug use in secondary education) of 2016, 44% of adolescents and young people (14-18 years) cannabis consumers repeated academic year during the last year. Cannabis is the illegal drug most consumed by adolescents and young people in Spain and in the European Union.

"The consumption of cannabis derivatives is a clear school risk factor. Several studies conclude that the negative effects of cannabis on attention, memory and learning can last days or weeks, "confirmed Jordi Royo Isach, clinical director of Amalgama-7, the Catalan institution specialized in preventive, educational and therapeutic work with teenagers, youth and their families. The latest state report on drug use in secondary education provides, among others, that An association between cannabis consumption variables and worse school performance can be established.

"Knowing the increase in the problem of mental health and addictions on adolescence and the impact of this fact on adulthood, the Catalonia Mental Health Cluster (CSMC) has had Amalgam currently, "said Pere Bonet, president of the Catalonia mental health cluster.

In Spain, 29.1% of young people and adolescents declare having ever consumed cannabis in life and 18.6% have done so in the last 30 days. In 1994, the number of consumers in the last month reached 12.4%, which implies a 6.2% increase in young and adolescent cannabis consumers in the last 22 years. In this sense, an upward trend of cannabis derivatives consumption can be seen, in the last two decades. Jordi Royo has broken down some of the causes of this increase in consumption: "Currently, the proliferation of cannabis clubs and marijuana plantations both in large rural areas and in urban private environments have generated greater accessibility to this substance. We must also add the decrease in the perception of risk of cannabis consumption, which in the last surveys has been perceived as less dangerous than tobacco ".

Studies warn about cannabis consumption risks in mental health: It can lead to psychotic outbreaks (depending on the quantity and genetic predisposition) and risk of generating schizotypic or schizophrenic disorders. Regarding the academic field, this consumption can produce difficulties that can lead to school failure and abandonment. Similarly, in the workplace it can produce problems in the concentration and maintenance of the activity.

The latest EPAD study ("Survey of secondary school teachers on drugs and other addictions in Spain") of the Spanish Observatory on Drugs appreciate that 4 out of 10 teachers have seen smoking cannabis to students outside the school and 1 in 10 teachers Inside the same school. They are also 10% teachers who have observed students under the effects of drugs in class or inside the school. "The best way to address a cannabis consumption disorder, as well as other risk and young risk disorders and behaviors, is a specialized treatment program, with an interdisciplinary team that offers clinical, academic and socio -educational attention," Jordi Royo concluded.

References

• Gómez-Arnau, J., González-Morales, a., & González-Saiz, F. (2018). Cannabis and addiction: characteristics, prevention and treatment. Editorial Synthesis.
• García-Rodríguez, o., & Dryses-Villa, R. (2014). Cannabis and addictive disorders: systematic review and meta -analysis. Addictions, 26 (3), 222-231.
• Aguilar, m. TO., & Sánchez, A. (2018). Cannabis: effects, risks and treatment. Editorial Synthesis.
• Bravo, m. TO., & Rodríguez, R. (2017). Cannabis and addiction: myths and realities. Magazine of the Spanish Association of Neuropsychiatry, 37 (133), 69-78.