Will we soon have a new drug to treat cannabis addiction, when there is currently no treatment? Cannabis is today the most consumed illicit drug in France: half of the older adult population reports having already taken it. during his life in 2023, according to data from Public Health France and the French Observatory on Drugs and Addictive Tendencies (OFDT). Regular use concerns 3.4% of adults aged 18 to 64 in 2023, stable since 2017, or around 900,000 people.
If the product is commonplace, the trend is however downward among young people, according to an OFDT survey, with 5.3% of middle school students aged 4e and 3e who have tried it in 2022, compared to 6.7% in 2018. On the other hand, the percentage increases with age: 16.2% of second year students say they have already used it and almost one in three students in final year .
Remember that cannabis, generally smoked, in the form of herb or resin (hashish), contains numerous components, including THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), its main active molecule. THC acts on CB1, one of the receptors of the body's endocannabinoid system, which plays an important role in neurodevelopment. THC binds to CB1 receptors and activates them, leading to its psychotropic effects, including those of addiction.
In the United States, for the first time, the number of daily and almost daily users of cannabis (17.7 million) exceeded that of alcohol (14.7), according to the survey published in the journal Addictions in May 2024. An increase linked to the legalization of the recreational use of cannabis in almost half of the states in the country, but not only that.
The dangers of early consumption
In France, while the majority of cannabis consumers use recreationally, around 10% become dependent, according to experts, and “this is the case for 50% of daily users according to international data”recalls psychiatrist Jean-Michel Delile, president of the Addiction Federation, “16% of adolescents who have started are at risk of sticking,” recalled Jean-Michel Delile and the clinical psychologist Jean-Pierre Couteron in the journal Mental health practices in 2017.
“We are talking about addiction, the risk of which varies from one person to another, when there is a loss of control, with an invasive aspect on the subject's life, an impact on family life, a decline in school functioning. , etc. »adds Professor Benjamin Rolland, head of the university addiction department of Lyon (HCL, CH Le Vinatier). However, cannabis is less addictive than tobacco, alcohol or other drugs.
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