Swedish Research Council

Many countries and jurisdictions have recently adopted more lenient cannabis laws. While use remains prohibited in Sweden, this stance is debated due to high drug-related mortality. To inform this debate, we predicted changes in cannabis use following a hypothetical decriminalization in Sweden. Jurisdiction-level data on self-reported cannabis use from 12 countries (across Europe and Australia) and four U.S. states were used in a multilevel meta-regression model to predict the most likely changes in past 12-month and past 30-day cannabis use following decriminalization in Sweden. We predicted an immediate increase in the prevalence of both past 12-month and past 30-day cannabis use following decriminalization. However, the longer-term trends differed between these measures. For past 12-month use, the gap in prevalence between scenarios with and without decriminalization gradually narrowed over time. In contrast, for past 30-day use, the gap widened. Decriminalizing cannabis use in Sweden would lead to an initial increase of self-reported cannabis use. The extent to which this reflects a genuine increase in use or an increased propensity to disclose the behavior remains to be understood. After this initial increase experimental use tends to stabilize, while recurrent use may continue to increase, probably indicating an increasing pool of individuals transitioning towards dependence. The method we propose for predicting population trends in cannabis use following decriminalization can be easily replicated in other context and used to support evidence-based policy decisions.

Abstract Background There are growing concerns that social media may negatively impact adolescents’ mental health. However, most studies are cross-sectional, or short-term longitudinal studies, limiting conclusions about long-term effects. This study investigates whether social media use at age 15/16 is associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety five years later. It also explores differences by gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and physical activity. Methods Data come from a nationally representative cohort of Swedish adolescents. In 2017, 5535 students in grade 9 (age 15/16) completed a self-report survey. In 2022, 3193 participated in follow-up. Social media use (hours/day) was self-reported; depression and anxiety were measured using PHQ-4. Moderation by gender, SES, and physical activity were tested. Linear regression models were estimated. Results In unadjusted models, social media use at age 15/16 was positively associated with anxiety and depression five years later, but these associations were no longer significant after adjusting for confounders. No significant moderation by gender, SES or physical activity was observed. Conclusions Among Swedish adolescents, time spent on social media is not associated with more symptoms of anxiety or depression five years later. If the literature reaches consensus that social media use does not have long-term effects on mental health, an important implication is that efforts to reduce social media use by adolescents are unlikely to prevent mental health problems. Key messages • Frequent social media use in adolescence is not linked to symptoms of depression and anxiety in young adulthood. • Future longitudinal studies should examine which types of social media activities or experiences may be associated with negative outcomes.

Abstract It is still unknown how current trends in psychedelic use among adolescents are related to mental health. This study reports on the prevalence of psychedelic use in a Swedish representative nationwide drug survey and its association with mental health outcomes and user personality. A cross-sectional study using data from the latest 2024 Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAN) school survey was conducted (N = 10,288 in 9th and 11th grades; response rate: 79%). Psychedelic use was measured along with mental health (General Anxiety, GAD-7, Daily dysfunction, and Satisfaction with Life) and personality traits (Big Five; TIPI). A total of 1.9% reported lifetime psychedelic use. Users had higher GAD-7 scores compared to non-users (M: 9.7 vs. 5.4; Cohen’s d = 0.80) and differed in personality traits with higher neuroticism (d = 0.37) and lower conscientiousness (d = − 0.54). Psychedelic use did not add an explanation to mental health (ΔR 2 = 0.01) in addition to user personality (ΔR 2 = 0.32). Adolescent psychedelic use in Sweden is associated with poorer mental health, i.e., increased anxiety. Personality traits, particularly neuroticism, play a significant role, emphasizing the importance of individual differences in understanding adolescent psychedelic use. Public health policies should integrate education on psychedelic use and personality risk factors to inform adolescents and caregivers about potential risks and benefits.

The aim of the study is to estimate the association between bar density and nighttime emergency calls to the police. We used a pooled cross-sectional time-series data set covering the Swedish 290 municipalities spanning the time period 2012-2021. As outcome we used nighttime emergency calls to the police and daytime emergency calls to the police as control variable. Bar density was measured as number of serving establishments licensed to serve alcohol after 1 am. The municipalities were classified into three socio-economic (SES) categories: low, middle and high-SES areas. We used survey data to estimate the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking (HED) for each of the three SES areas. We applied fixed-effects modelling to estimate the association between bar density and nighttime police calls, implying that only within-unit variation was exploited. Findings suggested that a 10% increase in bar density would result in a 0.46% (p = 0.001) increase in nighttime police calls. There was a marked gradient in the bar effect across SES areas; in high-SES areas the effect was not significant, while the effect was twice as strong in the low-SES areas as in mid-SES areas. We also found that the lower the status of the SES area, the higher the prevalence of HED. We found a significantly positive association between bar density and nighttime police calls. However, the association was markedly stronger in low-SES areas (which were also characterised by an elevated HED prevalence) than in high-SES areas (distinguished by a lower HED prevalence).