Public perception of marijuana use has greatly changed over the past few years, with many perceiving the drug as harmless. But a new 20-year study says quite the opposite.

Professor Wayne Hall of the University of Queensland, Australia released "What Twenty Years of Research on Cannabis Use Has Taught Us," in the journal, Addiction, highlighting the effect that marijuana use has on mental and physical health of adolescents and young adults. 

Adolescents who regularly use marijuana are likely to: 

• Double their risk of having psychotic symptoms and disorders, especially if there is a family history of these disorders and if they start using marijuana in their mid-teens.
• Not graduate or finish school, but it is unknown whether or not the link is causal.
• Use other illicit drugs, but it is unknown whether or not the link is causal.
• Double the risk of being diagnosed with schizophrenia or reporting psychotic symptoms in adulthood.

SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) takes a public health approach to marijuana and offers many resources and legislative updates.  Find fact sheets, talking points, and more on:  http://learnaboutsam.org/

Parents who provide their teens with alcohol and a place to consume it may think they are teaching their children "responsible drinking." A new review of studies concludes this view is misguided. Researchers found parental provision of alcohol is associated with increased teen alcohol use.

In some cases, parental provision of alcohol is also linked with increased heavy episodic drinking and higher rates of alcohol-related problems, the researchers report in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Read more