Parolaro Daniela
Adicciones. 2010;22(3):185-9.
Marijuana is consistently the most widely used illicit drug among teenagers and most users first experiment it in adolescence. Adolescence is a critical period between childhood and adulthood, including not only reproductive maturation, but also cognitive, emotional and social maturation. In this period adolescent brain is still in transition differing anatomically and neurochemically from the adult's one. The endocannabinoid system is an important determinant for cerebral maturation, therefore its strong stimulation by the delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol, that acts through the endocannabinoid system, might lead to subtle but lasting neurobiological changes that can affect adult brain functions and behaviour. We summarize the more recent researches investigating the relationships between adolescent exposure to cannabinoids and increased risk for psychotic disease such as schizophrenia, as highlighted by both human and animal studies. Epidemiological evidence suggests that cannabis use is a risk factor for schizophrenia, and an exacerbation of symptoms and worsening of the schizophrenic prognosis may occur in individuals with a predisposition for schizophrenia. The characteristic of adolescent brain probably makes it more vulnerable to cannabis effect producing psychotic like symptoms and possibly cause schizophrenia.
大麻一直是青少年中使用最广泛的非法药物，大多数使用者首次尝试是在青春期。青春期是童年与成年之间的关键时期，不仅包括生殖成熟，还包括认知、情感和社交成熟。在此期间，青少年的大脑仍处于发育阶段，在解剖结构和神经化学方面与成年人的大脑不同。内源性大麻素系统是大脑成熟的重要决定因素，因此，通过内源性大麻素系统起作用的Δ-9-四氢大麻酚对其产生的强烈刺激，可能会导致细微但持久的神经生物学变化，进而影响成人大脑功能和行为。我们总结了最近的研究，这些研究调查了青少年接触大麻素与患精神疾病（如精神分裂症）风险增加之间的关系，这一点在人类和动物研究中均有突出体现。流行病学证据表明，使用大麻是患精神分裂症的一个风险因素，对于有精神分裂症倾向的个体，可能会出现症状加重和精神分裂症预后恶化的情况。青少年大脑的特点可能使其更容易受到大麻影响，从而产生类似精神病的症状，并可能导致精神分裂症。
