What topics does this cannabis study cover?

This study covers research on: Addiction.

Where was this research published?

Published in Addiction (Abingdon, England) on October 13, 2026.

Australian surveys link post-1980 first use with faster CUD transition

Q: What did this research study find?

Estimated cumulative risk of CUD was **lowest** for people who first used cannabis before 1980 and **highest** among those who began in the 1990s and 2000s; early-time confidence intervals overlapped.

Changes in the transition from cannabis use to use disorder by decade of first use: Findings from the Australian National Mental Health and Wellbeing surveys.

Addiction (Abingdon, England) • October 13, 2026 • Highly Relevant

🤖

AI Summary

This study asked whether the likelihood and speed of developing cannabis use disorder (CUD) after first using cannabis differed by decade of first use. Researchers analyzed two cross-sectional Australian national mental health surveys, including 4,731 people who had ever used cannabis, and used survival analysis to compare the time from first use to CUD onset across groups who began using in different decades.

The estimated cumulative risk was lowest among people who first used cannabis before 1980 and highest in the 1990s and 2000s groups, though confidence intervals overlapped at earlier time points. After statistical adjustment, people who began using in the 1990s, 2000s, or 2010s or later had significantly higher hazards of CUD than those who began before 1980. The authors suggest that greater product potency and access may partly explain the pattern, but this observational study cannot establish why the differences occurred or that changes in cannabis products caused them. This is an abstract-based summary; it does not establish an individual’s risk.

💡 Key Findings

Estimated cumulative risk of CUD was lowest for people who first used cannabis before 1980 and highest among those who began in the 1990s and 2000s; early-time confidence intervals overlapped.

High

80%

After adjustment for demographic, substance-use, mental-health, and service-use factors, first use in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s or later was associated with a significantly higher hazard of CUD than first use before 1980.

High

85%

The cross-sectional observational design shows an association, not causation; it cannot determine whether greater cannabis potency or easier access caused the higher hazards.

High

95%

📄 Original Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: As cannabis becomes increasingly accessible and products more potent, it is critical that we understand how this may impact the risk of transitioning from cannabis use to cannabis use disorder (CUD). We aimed to examine whether the risk and speed of transition from cannabis use to CUD differ by decade of first cannabis use. METHOD: Cross-sectional surveys. Data were drawn from the two most recent Australian National Surveys of Mental Health and Wellbeing (NSMHWB; age range: 16-85): 2007 (n = 8841) and 2020-22 (n = 15 893). Among participants who had ever used cannabis (n = 4731), the number of years from age of first use to age of first CUD onset were calculated, with those never experiencing a CUD censored at age of interview. Participants were then grouped by their decade of first cannabis use (<1980s; 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, ≥2010s). Survival analysis was performed to estimate the accumulative risk of CUD. Cox proportional hazards models examined whether decade of first use was associated with speed of progression from first use to first CUD while controlling for demographic, other substance use disorders (SUD), mental health disorders, and mental health service use. RESULTS: Across 1-, 5-, and 10-years following first use, the risk of developing CUD was consistently lowest among those who initiated before 1980 (cumulative risk [CR] = 0.07, 0.16, 0.18 respectively) and highest among those who initiated in the 1990s (CR = 0.12, 0.25, 0.28 respectively) and 2000s (CR = 0.13, 0.24, 0.26 respectively), although confidence intervals overlapped at earlier time points. After adjusting for demographics, other SUDs, mental health disorders, and mental health service use characteristics, those initiating cannabis use in the 1990s [HR = 1.47; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08-1.99], 2000s (HR 1.37; 95%CI 1.05-1.81) and 2010 ≥ (HR 1.70; 95%CI 1.13-2.56) exhibited statistically significantly elevated hazards of CUD relative to those first using cannabis prior to 1980. SUMMARY: The risk and speed of transitioning from first cannabis use to cannabis use disorder appears to be greatest in those individuals initiating use after 1980. This increased risk may be partially driven by more potent cannabis products and easier access, which has important implications for cannabis regulation and the design of early intervention.

Paper Type

📄 Research

Publication

Journal: Addiction (Abingdon, England)
Published: October 13, 2026
PMID: 42866937
DOI: 10.1111/add.70608

Authors (11)

Jack Wilson The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, Level 6, Jane Foss Russell Building, G02, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Siobhan O'Dean The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, Level 6, Jane Foss Russell Building, G02, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Christina Marel The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, Level 6, Jane Foss Russell Building, G02, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Olivia Dobson The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, Level 6, Jane Foss Russell Building, G02, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Matthew Sunderland The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, Level 6, Jane Foss Russell Building, G02, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
+6 more authors