Nearly One-Third of Teens With Cannabis Use Disorder Face Treatment Delays, Study Finds

Adolescence has always been a period of experimentation, but the cannabis today's teens encounter is not the same substance their parents might remember. Modern marijuana products are significantly more potent, and the risks—particularly for developing brains—are increasingly well-documented. Yet when young people develop cannabis use disorder and need professional help, getting that help is proving harder than it should be.

New research led by Panagiota Kitsantas, a professor at George Mason University's College of Public Health, reveals that nearly one-third of American adolescents with cannabis use disorder experience significant delays in accessing treatment. Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the study identifies troubling patterns in who gets timely care and who does not—and suggests that systemic barriers are getting worse, not better.

The Scope of the Problem

Cannabis use disorder is defined as persistent marijuana use despite physical or social harm. For adolescents, the consequences can be particularly severe. Cannabis affects brain regions critical for memory, learning, attention, and decision-making—functions that are still developing throughout the teenage years. Research has linked adolescent cannabis use to poor academic performance, higher dropout rates, and reduced likelihood of pursuing higher education.

Despite these risks, treatment remains elusive for many. Kitsantas and her team found that approximately 31% of adolescents seeking care for cannabis use disorder faced delays in accessing that care. The study analyzed treatment admission patterns over time and uncovered a disturbing trend: while delays had actually decreased between 2012 and 2018, they have been steadily rising since then.

Who Gets Delayed?

The research reveals significant disparities in who waits for treatment. Younger adolescents—those aged 12 to 14—were more likely to experience delays than older teens. Males faced longer waits than females. White non-Hispanic youth experienced more delays than youth from other racial and ethnic backgrounds.

The reasons for these disparities are not fully clear from the data, but they suggest that referral pathways and treatment systems may be better calibrated for certain populations than others. Younger adolescents, for instance, may be less likely to self-advocate for care or may depend more heavily on adult gatekeepers who do not recognize the severity of their substance use. The finding that males experience more delays is particularly notable given that males typically have higher rates of cannabis use disorder than females.

System-Level Barriers

Perhaps the most actionable finding concerns how young people enter the treatment system. Adolescents who were referred through healthcare systems experienced more delays than those who self-referred. This suggests that the very systems designed to connect people with care may be creating bottlenecks.

The type of treatment setting also mattered. Youth entering rehabilitation or residential programs, as well as those beginning outpatient treatment, faced longer delays than those accessing detox services. This variation across settings points to systemic differences in how quickly various programs can intake new patients—differences that could potentially be addressed through better coordination and resource allocation.

For families seeking help, these findings translate into real-world frustration. A parent who takes their child to a pediatrician and receives a referral to a substance use treatment program may wait weeks or months for an intake appointment. During that delay, the adolescent continues using, academic performance may deteriorate further, and family conflict often escalates.

Why Delays Matter

The consequences of delayed treatment extend beyond the individual adolescent. From a public health perspective, every month that a young person continues using cannabis is a month of continued exposure to a substance that can alter brain development. The window for effective intervention may also narrow over time. Early substance use disorders that go untreated have a tendency to become more entrenched, potentially leading to longer and more intensive treatment needs down the road.

Kitsantas is direct about the stakes. "I hope this research draws attention to the growing and preventable problem of delayed treatment for adolescents with cannabis use disorder," she said. "Ultimately, the goal is to promote timely access to treatment and improve long-term outcomes for adolescents while easing the broader public health burden of substance use."

The Policy Context

The study's finding that delays have increased since 2018 is particularly concerning given the policy landscape of recent years. The late 2010s and early 2020s saw significant expansion of behavioral health services through telehealth, increased federal funding for substance use treatment, and growing recognition of adolescent mental health needs. Yet somehow, access to cannabis use disorder treatment appears to have become more difficult, not less.

Several factors may be contributing. The surge in adolescent mental health needs following the COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed many treatment systems. Programs that previously had capacity for substance use treatment may now be prioritizing crisis intervention for depression, anxiety, and suicidality. The workforce shortage in behavioral health—long a problem—has become acute, with many programs unable to hire enough clinicians to meet demand.

Additionally, cannabis use disorder may be deprioritized relative to other substance use disorders. In an era of fentanyl and overdose deaths, treatment programs may focus their limited resources on opioid use disorder, viewing cannabis as less urgent. But while cannabis may not carry the same immediate mortality risk as opioids, its impact on adolescent development can be profound and long-lasting.

Paths Forward

The study points toward several potential interventions. The finding that healthcare system referrals create longer delays than self-referrals suggests that primary care and pediatric practices may need better pathways for rapid connection to specialty care. When a pediatrician identifies cannabis use disorder in a patient, there should be a streamlined process for getting that young person into treatment within days, not weeks.

The variation across treatment settings also offers opportunities for improvement. If detox programs can intake patients more quickly than residential or outpatient programs, understanding why—and replicating those efficiencies—could reduce delays across the system.

For families, the research underscores the importance of persistence. Self-referral, while challenging, appears to result in faster access than waiting for healthcare system navigation. Parents who suspect their child has a cannabis use problem may need to reach out directly to multiple treatment programs rather than waiting for a single referral to materialize.

As cannabis legalization expands across the United States and product potency continues to increase, adolescent cannabis use disorder is likely to remain a significant public health challenge. Ensuring that young people who need treatment can access it promptly is not just a matter of individual health—it is an investment in the cognitive and emotional development of the next generation.