Main description:

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. A growing number of Americans now perceive marijuana as relatively harmless and the notion that the drug should be legalized it is becoming increasingly popular. As policy in this area remains dynamic, resulting health issues, including the harm to adolescents and the potential for compounds to have therapeutic value, become more salient.

Contemporary Health Issues on Marijuana is a balanced, empirically driven volume that highlights new and meaningful theory and evidence pertaining to marijuana use. Authored by a multidisciplinary group of experts from the fields of psychology, epidemiology, medicine, and criminal justice, chapters comprehensively review numerous research domains of public health interest with respect to marijuana use, including the drug's impact on cognitive and neurological functioning, its medical
effects, treatment approaches for cannabis use disorders, the effects of marijuana smoking on lung function, and marijuana-impaired driving. The book concludes with a chapter on policy implications, taking stock of current trends and anticipating prevalence rates and resulting health consequences that will
only continue to grow. Contemporary Health Issues on Marijuana is a resource of great clinical, scientific, and public policy value that will be a must-have for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers alike.

Contents:

Preface - Ken C. Winters and Kevin A. Sabet

Introduction - Nicholas Chadi, Sharon Levy, Rajiv Radhakrishnan, Mohini Ranganathan, and Aaron S. B. Weiner

Chapter 1. Recent Epidemiological Trends in Marijuana Use - Linda B. Cottler and Chukwuemeka N. Okafor

Chapter 2. International Trends in Cannabis Use - James C. Anthony, Omayma Alshaarawy, and Catalina Lopez-Quintero

Chapter 3. Clinical Characteristics of Cannabis Use Disorder - Tammy Chung and Ken C. Winters

Chapter 4. Effects of Adolescent Cannabis Use on Brain Structure and Function: Current Findings and Recommendations for Future Research - Randi Melissa Schuster, Jodi Gilman, and A. Eden Evins

Chapter 5. The Impact of Marijuana on Mental Health - Christine L. Miller

Chapter 6. Impact of Marijuana Smoking on Lung Health - Donald P. Tashkin

Chapter 7. Marijuana-Impaired Driving: A Path through the Controversies - Robert L. DuPont, Erin A. Holmes, Stephen K. Talpins, and J. Michael Walsh

Chapter 8. Risk Factors for Adolescent Marijuana Use - Richard F. Catalano, Elizabeth C. Speaker, Martie L. Skinner, Jennifer A. Bailey, Ge Hong, Kevin P. Haggerty, Katarina Guttmannova, and Erin N. Harrop

Chapter 9. Status Update on the Treatment of Cannabis Use Disorder - Alan J. Budney, Catherine Stanger, Ashley A. Knapp, and Denise D. Walker

Chapter 10. What Is the Evidence of Marijuana as Medicine? - Kevin A. Sabet, David Atkinson, and Shayda M. Sabet

Chapter 11. Policy Implications - Kevin A. Sabet and Ken C. Winters

Index