Minnesota Hemp-THC producers say they’re ready to fight federal hemp ban

OG article by Nicole Ki

November 14, 2025

A comprehensive study tracking Canadian youth cannabis use post-2018 legalization paints an unexpectedly positive picture: monthly or more frequent consumption dipped from 15.0% in 2017–2018 to 12.3% in 2021–2022 among secondary school students. Drawing from the COMPASS cohort across 85 schools in six provinces, researchers analyzed 38,885 pre-legalization and 29,619 post-legalization participants, identifying shifts in behavioral and psychosocial risk profiles that drive use.

Pre-legalization, six risk clusters dominated, including devaluing academics, minimal homework, excessive texting (over 45 minutes daily), and peer influences, with the highest-risk group comprising 30.4% of youth. Post-legalization, profiles proliferated to eleven, integrating mental health elements like depression, anxiety, breakfast-skipping, and chronic emotional distress. The top-risk segment shrank to 18.8%, signaling a pivot toward internalizing disorders over external behaviors like truancy or bullying. Never-users rose notably, though COVID-19 disrupted later data collection.

"Adolescent cannabis use has declined, but the risk factor profile... has substantively changed, increasingly implicating elevations in internalizing mental health conditions," the authors conclude in their International Journal of Drug Policy paper. Persistent factors—screen time, sleep deficits, other substance experimentation, and low wellbeing—endure, but mental health's ascent demands tailored interventions. Prevention must evolve beyond traditional tactics, incorporating anxiety screening and emotional support in schools.

Limitations include potential sampling bias from volunteer schools and omitted queries on peer or parental use, yet findings affirm legalization's unintended benefit: reduced access barriers may deter casual experimentation. Policymakers should prioritize holistic youth programs addressing these nuanced risks, ensuring cannabis reform bolsters—not burdens—public health. As Canada refines its model, global observers watch closely, recognizing that declining use amid evolving vulnerabilities underscores the complexity of substance policy in adolescence.