Spotting Cannabis Use Disorder in Teens

MindMetrix brings Substance Use into focus.

With cannabis more accessible than ever, adolescent use has become both more common and more complex. From vape pens to edibles, teens are experimenting younger, and more frequently. But when does use become a disorder? And how can clinicians catch it early, especially when teens aren’t always forthcoming?

Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) often hides behind symptoms like low motivation, irritability, or worsening grades: issues that are easy to attribute to adolescence or co-occurring conditions.

At MindMetrix, we’ve built a smarter way to surface it.

What is Cannabis Use Disorder?

According to the DSM-5-TR, Cannabis Use Disorder is defined by a problematic pattern of cannabis use leading to significant impairment or distress. Symptoms can include tolerance, withdrawal, cravings, difficulty cutting back, and continued use despite social or academic problems.

To meet diagnostic criteria, at least 2 symptoms must be present within a 12-month period. The more symptoms endorsed, the more severe the diagnosis:

• Mild: 2–3 symptoms
• Moderate: 4–5 symptoms
• Severe: 6+ symptoms

But in teens, these symptoms often don’t come out unless you know how to ask and what to look for.

MindMetrix screens for Cannabis Use Disorder in adolescents

Our adolescent assessment uses a multi-instrument, evidence-based approach to detect problematic cannabis and substance use patterns. Specifically, we’ve integrated three of the most widely validated screening tools for adolescent substance use:

1. CUDIT-R (Cannabis Use Disorder Identification Test – Revised)
   • Screens specifically for cannabis-related risk and harm
   • Sensitive to frequency, control, and functional impairment
   • Helps determine if cannabis use is mild, moderate, or severe
2. DUDIT (Drug Use Disorder Identification Test)
   • Broad screening for non-alcohol substance use
   • Captures patterns that may involve cannabis, stimulants, opioids, etc.
   • Especially helpful for teens with polysubstance use or diagnostic uncertainty
3. CRAFFT 2.1 (Car, Relax, Alone, Forget, Friends, Trouble)
   • Gold-standard adolescent screening tool recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics
   • Flags risky behaviors and consequences associated with use
   • Includes a Part B that aligns closely with DSM criteria when risk is detected

All three screens are:

• DSM-5-aligned and backed by robust research
• Developmentally appropriate for ages 13–17
• Automatically scored and interpreted within the MindMetrix report

These tools are built directly into our adaptive assessment flow, meaning teens only see what’s relevant based on their earlier responses. Clinicians don’t have to toggle between PDFs, checklists, or external screeners. Everything is centralized, synthesized, and easy to answer.

Why it matters

Teens rarely walk into session saying, “I think I have Cannabis Use Disorder.” But they will show you the signs, if you’re using the right tools.

MindMetrix makes it easy to:

• Identify cannabis use early
• Differentiate between experimentation and emerging disorder
• Understand how substance use interacts with conditions like ADHD, anxiety, or depression
• Guide toward appropriate next steps, including referrals and harm-reduction strategies

The bottom line

Cannabis Use Disorder in adolescents is often underrecognized, not because it’s rare but because it can look like so many other things: low motivation, emotional lability, poor academic performance, or defiance. Without structured, developmentally sensitive screening, these symptoms can easily be misattributed to “typical teen behavior” or masked by co-occurring mental health conditions.

Reliable tools like the CUDIT-R, CRAFFT 2.1, and DUDIT help clinicians identify risk early, open meaningful conversations with families, and support timely intervention before patterns become entrenched. Recognizing substance use as part of a broader diagnostic picture is essential to helping teens get the care they need.