Marijuana use among adolescents: a cross-sectional study with Brazilian students from a remote area of the Amazon region

Abstract

Marijuana is the most used illicit drug worldwide. The frequent use of marijuana in adolescence is very worrying, as it is associated with health problems. In Brazil, surveys on the use of psychotropic drugs with adolescent students were conducted in large cities. This study determined the prevalence and factors associated with marijuana use among adolescent students in the Brazilian city of Soure, Pará, in the Amazon region. In this cross-sectional study, 736 high school adolescent students provided information through a structured form at the three schools in Soure in November 2019. Marijuana use, in life and frequent (last 30 days), was calculated. Logistic regression models identified factors associated with different marijuana use. The rates of marijuana use in life and frequent were 17.7% and 7.1%, respectively. The behavioral pattern of the adolescents' coexistence nucleus (parents, relatives, and friends) was fundamental for marijuana use in life. Also, the lack of interference or reduced participation of the family in the adolescent's life, the inadequate family structure, and the continuous example of friends were associated with the frequent use of marijuana. Measures to control and prevent marijuana use are necessary and should be available to adolescents, their families, and friends in this remote area of the Amazon region.

Cannabis use, risk behaviours and harms in Brazil: A comprehensive review of available data indicators

“…Among university students, National Survey on Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs among University Students I data (2009) showed a prevalence of 47% and 79% for past‐year and 43% and 70% for past‐month concurrent and simultaneous cannabis use with alcohol, respectively [91]. Non‐representative student samples from across Brazil ( n = 275–736, 2009/2010 and 2019) showed cannabis to be used conjointly with alcohol (20%–30%), tobacco (10%–17%) and cocaine or crack‐cocaine (2%–8%) [57, 92]. Furthermore, five studies investigated the motives and benefits of combined cannabis with crack‐cocaine use based on qualitative (e.g., interview) data collected from vulnerable, street‐involved crack‐cocaine users and support workers ( n = 2–30).…”

“…Conversely, the repeated cross-sectional National School Health Survey (n = 109,104-125,123) showed an increasing prevalence of past-month cannabis use among primary and secondary students (ninth grade or 13-17 years) from 2.5% (2012), 4.1% (2015) and 5.3% (2019), including consistently higher rates among males and publicschool students, and in the south/southeast regions of Brazil [40][41][42]. In addition to national studies, regional (e.g., city-or state-based sample) surveys focusing on public and/or private school samples involving youth (5th-12th grade or 10-21 years)-mostly from Brazil's (most populous) state of São Paulo-identified rates of 0.6%-23.5% for lifetime, 0.2%-19% for past-year and 0.3%-10.0% for past-month cannabis use in 2005-2019 (n = 126-7176) [43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59].…”