Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo and Norwegian Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research, Oslo, Norway.
Addiction. 2010 Jan;105(1):109-18. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02719.x. Epub 2009 Oct 15.
To examine the association between cannabis use during adolescence and young adulthood, and subsequent criminal charges.
Data were obtained from the Young in Norway Longitudinal Study. A population-based sample (n = 1353) was followed from 13 to 27 years of age. Data were gathered on cannabis use, alcohol consumption and alcohol problems, and use of other illegal substances such as amphetamines, cocaine and opiates. In addition, extensive information on socio-demographic, family and personal factors was collected. This data set was linked to individual-level information from official Norwegian crime statistics.
We found robust associations between cannabis use and later registered criminal charges, both in adolescence and in young adulthood. These associations were adjusted for a range of confounding factors, such as family socio-economic background, parental support and monitoring, educational achievement and career, previous criminal charges, conduct problems and history of cohabitation and marriage. In separate models, we controlled for alcohol measures and for use of other illegal substances. After adjustment, we still found strong associations between cannabis use and later criminal charges. However, when eliminating all types of drug-specific charges from our models, we no longer observed any significant association with cannabis use.
The study suggests that cannabis use in adolescence and early adulthood may be associated with subsequent involvement in criminal activity. However, the bulk of this involvement seems to be related to various types of drug-specific crime. Thus, the association seems to rest on the fact that use, possession and distribution of drugs such as cannabis is illegal. The study strengthens concerns about the laws relating to the use, possession and distribution of cannabis.
探讨青少年和年轻成人时期大麻使用与随后刑事指控之间的关联。
数据来自挪威青少年纵向研究。对一个基于人群的样本（n=1353）进行了从 13 岁到 27 岁的随访。收集了大麻使用、酒精消费和酒精问题以及安非他命、可卡因和鸦片等其他非法物质使用的数据。此外，还收集了大量关于社会人口统计学、家庭和个人因素的信息。该数据集与来自挪威官方犯罪统计的个人层面信息相关联。
我们发现大麻使用与以后登记的刑事指控之间存在强有力的关联，无论是在青少年时期还是在年轻成人时期。这些关联在调整了一系列混杂因素后仍然存在，例如家庭社会经济背景、父母支持和监督、教育成就和职业、以前的刑事指控、行为问题以及同居和婚姻史。在单独的模型中，我们控制了酒精测量值和其他非法物质的使用。调整后，我们仍然发现大麻使用与以后的刑事指控之间存在很强的关联。然而，当我们从模型中消除所有类型的特定于药物的指控时，我们不再观察到与大麻使用有任何显著关联。
该研究表明，青少年和成年早期的大麻使用可能与随后的犯罪活动有关。然而，这种参与的大部分似乎与各种特定于药物的犯罪有关。因此，这种关联似乎取决于使用、拥有和分发大麻等药物是非法的事实。该研究加强了对与大麻使用、拥有和分发有关的法律的关注。
