NIDA TV Spotlight on Doctors Judith and David Brooks: Risks and Consequences of Drug Abuse

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Dr. Judith Brooks: We've been focusing on the risk and protective factors for substance use and that includes tobacco, marijuana and other illicit drugs.

More recently, we have been doing a number of longitudinal studies so that we can look at the consequences of substance use on functioning, covering a whole variety of  various physical, functioning, intellectual functioning, social functioning, emotional and other assuming adult roles.

With regard to the consequences of marijuana we've found that it leads to, or is associated with, later impaired health, and that's marijuana over time. It is also associated with antisocial personality disorder, depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, health problems, in… as well as adult functioning in general.

If a parent uses marijuana, chronic marijuana, chronically and is associated with interference with the attachment relationship, as well as establishing rules that in turn has an impact on the youngsters personality, which in turn, is related to who they select for peers.

That in turn, has an effect on their own drug use, which is then transmitted to their children. And it's important to look at not just one risk factor at a time, but multiple risk factors as it relates to substance use and marijuana. 

Dr. David Brooks: We are particularly interested in looking at the trans-generational transmission of risk factors from marijuana use from other are factors as well including other substance use antisocial behavior and the way that, for instance, externalizing behavior is transmitted across generations. And our feeling is that early intervention and early identification at early interventions are the way to break the chain of transmission over many generations.