screening and assessment for cannabis use disorders

Cannabis use and misuse are serious public health concerns worldwide.1 Estimated at 4% of the global population aged from 15 years1 with much higher rates (up to 70%)2 among adolescents aged 1218 years, cannabis use is now widely regarded as ‘normative’ youth behaviour.2,3 Several concurrent developments signal an upsurge in cannabis use disorders (CUD) and the whole spectrum of associated health, psychological, and social problems and harms: (a) cannabis’ widespread social tolerance, availability and affordability (b) declining age of initiation with pre-adolescent use (less than age 10 years) increasingly common; (c) engineering for higher-potency products; (d) emerging evidence that the health risks of cannabis have been hitherto underestimated; and (e) marked growth in treatment demand for cannabis problems globally.1,4-6 These concerns have prompted calls for stronger international investment in public health initiatives to prevent, minimize, or arrest progression of cannabisrelated harms.1,7-9