View article

Cannabis use has significant negative consequences for youth. Depression is associated with greater cannabis use among adults but less is known about cannabis use and depression among youth. This study investigated whether depression is associated with increased cannabis use among youth in the United States (US), overall and by demographics, and examined trends in cannabis use by depression status among youth from 2004 to 2016.

Data were from the 2004–2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), annual cross-sectional national samples of US persons 12 and older. The analytic sample included respondents aged 12–17 (total combined n=204,102). First, the prevalence of past-month cannabis use by past-year depression status among youth was examined, overall and by demographic subgroups, using pooled data from 2004–2016. Next, linear time trends of …