A Trinity researcher has helped show that teenagers receiving treatment for cannabis-use typically use the drug every day and spend between €50 and €100 on it every day.
Catherine Comiskey, from Trinity’s School of Nursing, was one of three researchers to take part in a study that has been called the first of its kind in Ireland, which focused on eight teenagers between 15 and 18 receiving drug treatment in Dublin.
Philip David James and Bobby Smyth, who both do youth drug work in Dublin, were the other researchers. They said that the study, although small, is common in qualitative research.
The research found that five out of eight users had first taken cannabis aged 13 or younger. The researchers found that the exposure of the teenagers to cannabis at this age was one of the “most concerning aspects” of their study.
Seven out of the eight users described daily use of cannabis over time from their first usage to the peak of their addiction. Cannabis, the study found, “became the focal point of their lives”.
It also detailed experiences of craving and withdrawal from the drug when the users were not smoking. These symptoms included issues with their appetites and sleeping, irritation and continual cravings for cannabis.
At the height of their addiction, two users admitted that they were spending over €100 per day on cannabis, a third disclosed that they were spending over €50 per day and one said that they were spending around €50 a day.
Although the users were in treatment for cannabis addiction, the research found that many wished to continue smoking cannabis. “The participants perceived that it was the amount of cannabis they smoked rather than smoking per se that was the problem”, said the study.
Two-thirds of the eight people surveyed ended up selling cannabis to others to fund their addiction, while half admitted to engaging in criminal activities to make money to fund their addiction, from stealing from their parents to armed robbery.
The report also found that parents’ knowledge of their children’s addictions often came about when drug debts were demanded to be paid and their children looked to them for financial aid.
