The conclusions of this study by Inserm and Sorbonne University leave no room for doubt: young people who started using cannabis before the age of 16 are twice as likely to experience a period of unemployment at adulthood than those who have never smoked it.
Nearly 1,500 people were followed for nine years, between 2009 and 2018, according to results published in a medical journal.
For those who have been introduced to cannabis after 16 years, the increase in the risk of unemployment is less, but it does exist: 39% more to experience a period of unemployment than those who have never tried drugs. The researchers were also interested in the risk of experiencing repeated periods of unemployment and again it all depends on the age at which one started using cannabis.
Young people who started before 16 are three times more likely to experience repeated spells of unemployment than those who have never used drugs. If one starts using cannabis later, after sixteen years, the risk of experiencing repeated unemployment in one’s life is also higher, but to a lesser extent: only twice the risk of those who have not. never touched a joint.
The age at which one begins to consume drugs is decisive since, still on the risk of experiencing repeated periods of unemployment during one’s life, the study highlights a clear difference between those who started young, before 16 years, and others: those who started early are 92% more likely to experience repeated periods of unemployment than those who started late.
“Cannabis use before the age of 16 can therefore be considered a marker of the risk of unemployment”, conclude Inserm and the Sorbonne University. For Maria Melchior, Research Director at Inserm: “Postponing cannabis experiments as late as possible should be a public policy objective.”
France also has one of the highest levels of cannabis consumption in the world, with nearly 40% of 17-year-olds indicating that they have used it during the past year.