Promo graphic for episode 1038 of Public Health On Call titled Cannabis Use Disorder and Psychiatric Conditions. Additional text reads: New findings suggest that adolescents with patterns of problematic cannabis use are at an elevated risk for other mental disorders.

Compared to adults with similar habits, young adults with patterns of problematic cannabis use are at an elevated risk for other mental disorders like depression and schizophrenia.

@drjthrul.bsky.social details a recent study on this potential link.

🎧 podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/1038-cannabi...

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Again Rated #1 by Peers in U.S. News & World Report | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health The School has held the #1 spot since the rankings began in 1994. The School has also been named by peers as a leader in five specialty areas within public health this year.

We are proud to again be recognized by our peer schools and programs as the #1 public health school in the nation, as reported by U.S. News & World Report. The Bloomberg School is grateful to partner closely with our peers on our shared commitment to improving health for people everywhere.

Cannabis Use Disorder Among Young People Linked to Diagnosis of Psychiatric Disorders | Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Analysis of nearly 700,000 health records reveals age-related association between cannabis use disorder and subsequent psychiatric disorders diagnoses.

“Is cannabis use a unique risk factor compared to the use of other substances such as alcohol, opioids, or cocaine? That’s the question we addressed in this study, and our findings suggest that that relative risk depends on the user’s age,” says @dmh-bsph.bsky.social's @drjthrul.bsky.social

3/3 Obviously, training matters most, but the evidence is clear that alcohol impairs sleep, recovery, and adaptation. For performance-focused training, reducing alcohol is a reasonable, data-driven choice.

2/3 I don’t usually do this on here, but wanted to share my personal experience on the topic: I’ve reduced alcohol to very infrequent use (maybe 1 drink every few months). Over the same period, my VO₂ max increased to 60, which is the highest I’ve seen.

Does one drink make you dizzy? Why alcohol hits us harder as we age For many people, the holidays mean more parties and more occasions to drink. But if you've noticed that one cocktail hits you harder than it used to, there's a scientific reason to explain it.

1/3 I was recently interviewed by @NPR about alcohol and health:
www.npr.org/2025/12/08/n...
@johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
@dmh-bsph.bsky.social

Cannabis and Health Research Initiative (CHRI) A platform of data collection and dissemination focused on the health outcomes of therapeutic cannabis use at the patient level.

3/3 We are collecting longitudinal data on patient-level outcomes to inform clinical decisions and policy. Learn more & get involved: www.cannabisandhealth.org
And if you are a provider, send your patients who are interested in initiating medicinal cannabis our way!

2/3 Scientific evidence on therapeutic benefits and risks of medicinal cannabis remains limited and high quality research is needed now more than ever. That’s why programs like our Cannabis & Health Research Initiative (CHRI) are so critical.

1/3 Cannabis rescheduling from Schedule I to III is a major federal policy shift that acknowledges medicinal use and lowers barriers to research and clinical study.

3/3 Understanding these effects and developing impactful interventions is essential if we want to build a healthier digital future.

@johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
@dmh-bsph.bsky.social

2/3 The article emphasizes the need to go beyond “screen time” narratives. We must critically examine what digital environments are doing to youth, what they replace, and how we can redesign them to promote physical, mental, and social well-being

Mental Health in the Scroll Age | Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine What is digital life doing to young minds?

1/3 Technology is a critical determinant of population health and is shaping sleep, social connection, and identity formation at a massive scale.

Several colleagues and I contributed to this BSPH Magazine article on technology and mental health:
magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/mental-...

4/4 Our goal is to test evidence-based coping tools in the exact moments they are needed and inform the next generation of mobile health behavior change interventions.
@johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
@dmh-bsph.bsky.social

App-Based Smoking Urge Reduction Intervention for Young Adults: Protocol Combining a Microrandomized Trial and Conventional Between-Subject Randomized Trial Background: Tobacco smoking is the leading preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States, and young adults have high smoking rates. Although most young adult smokers are interested...

3/4 🔹 RCT protocol
Building on the pilot, we are now conducting a fully powered trial to rigorously test these cognitive-behavioral vs. acceptance-based messages, and to understand how context (e.g., location, co-use of alcohol/cannabis) impacts efficacy.
www.researchprotocols.org/2025/1/e74388

Micro-randomized pilot trial of an app-based smoking urge reduction intervention for young adults Micro-randomized pilot trial of an app-based smoking urge reduction intervention for young adults

2/4 🔹 Pilot study
We used EMA + geofencing to identify high-risk smoking situations and micro-randomize messages in real time. Participants engaged at high rates, and urge dropped after message delivery. Strong feasibility for a fully powered trial.
mhealth.amegroups.org/article/view...

1/4 New publications from our team on just-in-time mobile interventions
Smartphones offer a way to deliver high-quality support when people actually need it: Applied here at the moment they feel an urge to smoke.

2/2 She is launching a trial to improve housing stability and health outcomes for women survivors of violence.
Check out the project here: reporter.nih.gov/search/eZwj4...

1/2 Wonderful news and proud mentor moment: My first-ever PhD student and former mentee, Dr. Courtney Nordeck, received her first R01! Congrats @cdnordeck.bsky.social!
Securing this level of funding is a massive validation of grit, resilience, and scientific vision.

5/5 Congratulations to the team at Brown led by @janemetrik.bsky.social for this rigorous work. It lays the foundation for the next step: understanding how these interactions play out in the wild.

4/5 We need both the "Bar Lab" and the "Real World" data to paint the full picture for public health.

The National Cannabis Study - Part of CHRI The NCS is a collection of firsthand experiences with medical cannabis. If you're beginning to use cannabis for medical purposes, consider participating.

3/5 In our ongoing National Cannabis Study, www.cannabisandhealth.org/national-can... we are tracking medicinal cannabis patients in the real world to understand how different products, dosages, and consumption methods impact health outcomes over time.

2/5 The study found reduced drinking after smoking THC dominant cannabis in the lab. This is a crucial piece of the puzzle. It will be important to see if these results replicate in observational real-world data.

Acute Effects of Cannabis on Alcohol Craving and Consumption: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial | American Journal of Psychiatry Objective:Cannabis use is strongly linked with heavy drinking and worse alcohol treatment outcomes; however, it may also contribute to decreased alcohol consumption. To date, no human studies have est...

1/5 Important new work on cannabis and alcohol substitution. I got to weigh in on these results for @nytimes.com
Link to original paper: psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/...
Link to NYT article: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/w...

It was a pleasure talking to @publichealthpod.bsky.social about the health effects of alcohol, especially the cancer risk. Thanks for having me on the podcast!
@dmh-bsph.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social

We spoke with @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social's Dr. Johannes Thrul to better understand his groundbreaking research into cannabis use. This MPI work w/ Dr. Ryan Vandrey is shaping the future of addiction science and public health.

🔗 Read the full story: bit.ly/46DOu66

Text Messaging Intervention for Postpartum Alcohol Use: Micro-Randomized Trial Supports Feasibility, Acceptability, and Maternal Message Preference: Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs: Vol 0, No ... Objective: This pilot micro-randomized trial (MRT) evaluated feasibility of the MRT design and compared acceptability and preliminary impacts of drinking-focused and maternal-focused text messages to ...

Text Messaging Intervention for Postpartum Alcohol Use: Micro-Randomized Trial Supports Feasibility, Acceptability ... (just accepted in @jsadjournal.bsky.social)
@johnshopkinssph.bsky.social @janardan.bsky.social @drjthrul.bsky.social @capraustralia.bsky.social
www.jsad.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Targeting maladaptive pain coping may reduce craving & misuse risk.

@cdnordeck.bsky.social @momartelmcgill.bsky.social @drkellydunn.bsky.social

@johnshopkinssph.bsky.social @dmh-bsph.bsky.social @hopkinsmedicine.bsky.social

When do people with chronic pain crave opioids or cannabis most?

Our new study in DAD followed patients for 30 days using real-time surveys.

🔹 Craving ↑ on co-use days
🔹 Pain catastrophizing was strongest predictor
🔹 ~⅓ reported little/no craving

authors.elsevier.com/a/1lj4z1LiD3...

New paper in @ecp-editor.bsky.social: Trials on cannabis for chronic pain often miss what matters most to patients: sleep, coping, function, opioid substitution. Time to look beyond pain scores. 👉 doi.org/10.1037/pha0...

@dmh-bsph.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social

U.S. Drinking Drops to New Low, Poll Finds

Recent Gallup poll numbers on drinking in America show historic lows. I spoke with @nytimes.com about potential reasons incl changes in social norms, harm perceptions, and cannabis.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/w...

@johnshopkinssph.bsky.social @dmh-bsph.bsky.social