Did We Really Get the Full Picture? A Mini Scoping Review of Cannabis Use and Anxiety in Canadian Youth in the Context of COVID-19
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Introduction: Rates of recreational cannabis use among Canadian adolescents have increased following national legalization, coinciding with a rise in youth mental health challenges, particularly anxiety symptoms. This mini scoping review aims to explore the relationship between regular recreational cannabis use and anxiety symptoms in adolescents aged 13 to 18 in Canada. The purpose is to synthesize the existing evidence, identify research gaps, and inform public health strategies and future studies. Methods: A scoping review methodology was used to identify and synthesize relevant literature on cannabis use and anxiety symptoms among Canadian adolescents. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal peer-reviewed studies were included. Data extraction focused on patterns of cannabis use, reported anxiety outcomes, and potential moderating variables such as gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Thematic analysis was used to organize findings into key domains. Results: The review found a mixed but suggestive relationship between regular recreational cannabis use and increased anxiety symptoms in adolescents. Cross-sectional studies frequently reported positive associations, while longitudinal studies showed more variable outcomes, with some indicating persistent anxiety symptoms following sustained cannabis use. Available data suggest that gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status may moderate these associations, though a lack of demographic stratification in many studies limits findings. Discussion: The findings point to a potential link between regular recreational cannabis use and anxiety symptoms in Canadian adolescents, although causality remains uncertain due to the limitations of the existing literature. Moderating factors, such as gender and socioeconomic status, appear to be important but are underexplored. The variability in study design, measurement tools, and population samples contributes to mixed results, indicating a need for more rigorous and targeted research. Conclusion: This review highlights the complexity of the relationship between adolescent cannabis use and anxiety symptoms. There is a clear need for longitudinal, demographically nuanced research to better understand causality and mechanisms. These insights are critical for developing effective public health interventions and informing policy aimed at minimizing mental health risks associated with adolescent cannabis use. However, the limited number of studies (n = 5) constrains the generalizability of these findings.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.018 | 0.074 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.005 | 0.005 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.023 | 0.028 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.004 | 0.003 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.008 | 0.005 |
| Open science | 0.004 | 0.003 |
| Research integrity | 0.003 | 0.003 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.005 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".