Rural adolescents have multiple risk factors for cannabis-related harms that are often overlooked in research and policy focused on urban populations.
Rural health researchers, adolescent medicine specialists, policymakers, and prevention program designers.
Rural-specific risksidentified for adolescent cannabis use, including limited services, community instability, and demographic factors
What the researchers found
Rural youth face distinct risk factors for cannabis use including demographic differences, limited access to treatment services, community instability, and cultural factors that interact with expanding cannabis legalization.
Why it matters
As cannabis legalization spreads, rural communities may be disproportionately affected due to fewer prevention and treatment resources, requiring tailored public health approaches.
The numbers in context
Not quantified in abstract; review synthesizes epidemiological data across demographics including race, culture, community stability, age, gender, and educational status.
How the study worked
Narrative review synthesizing research across multiple disciplines on rural adolescent cannabis use, risk factors, epidemiological trends, and service gaps.
Who was studied
Rural adolescents and young adults in the United States.
What this study cannot tell us
Narrative review without systematic methodology. Research on rural cannabis use is scattered across disciplines, potentially leading to gaps in coverage.
How to read the evidence
Narrative review providing overview of existing evidence; does not generate new data or systematic synthesis.
When this study was published
Review article compiling current research on rural cannabis issues.
The bigger picture
This review highlights that the opioid crisis has overshadowed cannabis-related concerns in rural communities, and as legalization expands, these populations need dedicated attention in research, prevention, and treatment.
Replication
Review article; calls for more targeted rural cannabis research.
Funding
Not specified in abstract
Conflicts of interest
Not specified in abstract
Questions still open
- What specific prevention interventions work best for rural adolescents?
- How does limited treatment access in rural areas affect long-term cannabis use disorder outcomes?
Read the original research
Focus on rural adolescent cannabis use and abuse: ignored epidemiologic trends, unique risks, long-term concerns, and hope.
CNS spectrums, 28(3), 277-280
Citation
Gupta, Mayank; Petti, Theodore. (2023). Focus on rural adolescent cannabis use and abuse: ignored epidemiologic trends, unique risks, long-term concerns, and hope.. CNS spectrums, 28(3), 277-280. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1092852922000736