February 23, 2026
Puff, puff, panic
Large study finds link between cannabis use in teens and psychosis later
Study links teen weed to psychosis; comments cry 'correlation, not causation'
TLDR: A huge study links teen cannabis use with higher odds of later bipolar, psychosis, depression, and anxiety. The community is split: skeptics yell “correlation, not causation,” while others share alarming personal stories, making this essential reading for parents, educators, and anyone tracking weed policy debates.
A massive study of 460,000 teens says those who used cannabis were more likely to be diagnosed later with bipolar and psychotic disorders, plus upticks in depression and anxiety. That’s the headline. But the comments? Absolute wildfire. The loudest chorus: it’s correlation, not causation. Users slammed media summaries for overselling the science, pointing to the paper’s own careful language about “potential links” and the classic debate: are kids who are already vulnerable more likely to self-medicate? One commenter did the math flex—only about 1% developed the serious stuff—and asked why that’s being spun as doom. Another called teen weed a “deviance marker,” arguing behavior surrounding use could be the real flag. On the flip side, firsthand stories lit up the thread. One poster said schizophrenia forums warn weed “wrecks” mental stability, and dropped a chilling personal episode. Cue the “D.A.R.E. 2.0” jokes, correlation ≠ causation memes, and parents lurking in the replies like it’s a horror movie. The study’s authors excluded teens with prior symptoms and still found double the risk for bipolar and psychosis, with smaller bumps for depression (about a third) and anxiety (about a quarter). Older first-time users saw weaker links, hinting the younger brain may be more sensitive. Read the JAMA paper, then dive into the drama.
Key Points
- •Longitudinal analysis of 460,000 Kaiser Permanente Northern California teens found cannabis use in adolescence is linked to higher risks of later mental health diagnoses.
- •Cannabis use was associated with about double the risk of bipolar and psychotic disorders compared with nonuse.
- •Depression risk increased by roughly one-third and anxiety by about one-quarter among teen cannabis users.
- •Associations with depression and anxiety were weaker when cannabis use began at older ages, suggesting greater vulnerability in younger teens.
- •The study excluded adolescents with prior mental health symptoms, strengthening temporal ordering; it was published in JAMA Health Forum.