“Cannabis Involvement Across the first 3 decades of Life: Predictors, Pathways and Outcomes”

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Abstract:
The prevalence of marijuana use in the U.S. is already high with approximately 70% of the population reporting use by age 30. As legalization and medicinal marijuana movements continue to grow, marijuana use is increasingly viewed as harmless by youth. This presentation will use the longitudinal, representative Great Smoky Mountains Study to study patterns of marijuana use, risk factors and outcomes across the first 3 decades of life. First, we will describe patterns of marijuana use and problematic use (defined as DSM 5 marijuana use disorder) from childhood to adulthood. Next, we will identify early risk factors for different developmental patterns of marijuana use including persistent, adolescent-limited and adult-onset marijuana use. Finally, we will test a broad range of adult outcomes for four commonly-used definitions of early marijuana use-related to timing, dose, duration, and associated symptoms.

Bio:
Dr. Copeland is a Professor of Psychiatry and the Director of Research in the Vermont Center for Children, Youth, and Families at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. He was trained as a clinical psychologist at the University of Vermont and then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in psychiatric epidemiology at Duke University Medical Center. He is the principal investigator of the prospective, longitudinal Great Smoky Mountains study that has been following 1420 participants in rural Appalachia for over 25 years to understand the long-term consequences of early adverse experiences and the development of mental illness. His research program has focused on understanding the developmental epidemiology of emotional and behavior health across the lifespan, including understanding the interplay between early adverse experiences and genetic vulnerability with other individual, family, and contextual characteristics.