Only 36.8 Percent of Teens With Cannabis Use Disorder Complete Treatment

MONDAY, July 28, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Only 36.8 percent of adolescents diagnosed with cannabis use disorder (CUD) complete treatment, according to a study published online July 22 in Pediatric Reports.Helena Miranda, from the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, and colleagues used data from the 2018 to 2021 Treatment Episode Data Set-Discharges, which included 40,054 adolescents diagnosed with CUD, to examine treatment outcomes and factors associated with treatment completion.The researchers found that 36.8 percent of adolescents completed treatment. Dropping out and transferring to another facility/program were the most common reasons for not completing treatment (28.4 and 17.0 percent, respectively). Male adolescents had a lower likelihood of completing treatment versus female adolescents (odds ratio, 0.95). Compared with White adolescents, lower odds of completing treatment were seen for Black non-Hispanic adolescents (odds ratio, 0.79), while Hispanic, Asian, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander adolescents had higher odds of completion (odds ratios, 1.13, 1.56, and 2.31, respectively). The likelihood of treatment completion was lower for those with independent living arrangements, homelessness, arrests in the past 30 days, and younger age (younger than 15 years). Lower completion rates were also seen for adolescents with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (odds ratio, 0.79). Greater success was seen in association with referral from schools/employers and treatment settings, especially with stays of four to six and seven to 12 months."These low rates of completion of treatment among U.S. adolescents with cannabis use disorder may portend increasing short- and long-term consequences," coauthor Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., also from the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, said in a statement.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Only 36.8 Percent of Teens With Cannabis Use Disorder Complete Treatment

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