title: Long-term outcomes of heavy marijuana use among adolescents.
abstract: In order to better understand the long-term outcomes of heavy marijuana use among adolescents, 17 adolescent and 15 adult users were intensively studied over a several-year period. Among both the adolescents and the adults, heavy use of the drug was found to have similar adaptive or defensive functions, fostering a detachment from the painful or unpleasant realities of their lives. This suggests that for a large number of adolescents, both the marijuana behavior and the psychosocial patterns associated with it are brought forward into adulthood.
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D009042:Motivation; D012649:Self Concept