Cannabis Use Disorder

Cannabis is considered by the Food and Drug Administration, along with heroin and peyote, as a schedule I drug. It has no accepted medical purpose and has a high potential for abuse. Commonly prescribed drugs like opiates and stimulants are schedule II drugs, meaning they have a high risk of abuse but are medically useful. Benzodiazepines are schedule IV substances, meaning they have a low potential for abuse and dependence. Despite federal regulations in the latter half of the 20th century, marijuana is still the most commonly abused drug in the United States.[1] The most common users are teenagers and adolescents, and usage tends to decline as these groups age into adulthood due to careers, marriage, cohabitation, and parenthood.[2][3] Nevertheless, cannabis use has increased with the state-directed legislature turning the tide against federal regulation. State legalization of marijuana has increased cultivation demand, selective breeding for more potent strains,[4] and competition in the marijuana dispensary industry. Expanding use and legislation for the legalization of marijuana are propagated by potential health benefits and absence of health concerns that are not well substantiated. Cannabis abuse is a term describing the continued use of cannabis despite impairment in psychological, physical, or social functioning. It is an outdated medical definition formerly used in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) which divided substance use from substance dependence. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) has revised the terms of cannabis use disorder defined by nine pathological patterns classified under impaired control, social impairment, risky behavior or physiological adaptation. The nature of this article will focus on cannabis abuse and related components - states of intoxication and withdrawal, and cannabis use disorder.