Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39114753›Full record

ArticleThe South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa2024

Cannabis use among hospitalised adolescents before and after decriminalisation in South Africa.

Michelle C Swartz, Lisa Dannatt, Anusha Lachman

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Changes in cannabis use post decriminalisation in mental health care users in South Africa.The South African journal of psychiatry : SAJP : the journal of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Michelle C SwartzDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5795-1129
Lisa DannattDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2449-313X
Anusha LachmanDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7593-2916

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Cannabis is the most widely used substance worldwide, and its use is much higher among adolescents. However, adolescents are at higher risk of negative sequelae secondary to this use, including the possible development of mental disorders. On 31 March 2017, the South African High Court ruled that cannabis use by an adult in a private dwelling should be decriminalised. Aim: This study aimed to determine the clinical profile of adolescents who use cannabis, who use, who present to a tertiary hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, before and after the high court ruling in 2017. Setting: Folder review of adolescents admitted at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH) in the Emergency Psychiatric Unit. Methods: This study was a retrospective folder review of adolescents admitted from April 2015 to March 2019. Results: Cannabis was the most commonly used substance in the study, with increased use seen post-ruling. The most common frequency of cannabis use reported was daily. A significantly higher proportion of patients who used cannabis pre-ruling had psychotic disorder ( Conclusion: The study showed an increasing prevalence of cannabis use in adolescents admitted with mental illness after the high court ruling in 2017. This study also demonstrates that adolescents remain a vulnerable population to the effects of cannabis and highlights the need for further research. Contribution: The findings of this study call for more focussed adolescent interventions and services.

Indexed as

adolescentscannabisdecriminalisehigh court rulingmental illnessSouth Africa

Identifiers

PMID39114753
PMCPMC11304362

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.