Research links psychosis, heavy cannabis use

Research links psychosis, heavy cannabis use

Research announced this month by the University of Granada in Spain suggests that daily cannabis use predisposes a person to the appearance of psychosis and schizophrenia.

The study, published in the journals Schizophrenia Research and European Psychiatry, interviewed 92 people, 50 of which had developed a psychosis but did not have “abnormal neurodevelopment,” (they\’d had friends, did well academically, etc.). Of these 50, 66% said they consumed cannabis daily or almost daily.

This isn\’t the first study to make such a link. A 2005 study in New Zealand, published in the British Medical Journal, claimed that 8% of schizophrenia cases in Australia were linked to marijuana use. A study from the Institute of Psychiatry in London found that teenagers who smoke marijuana have a 7% greater risk of developing psychosis by age 26 than the general public. Robin Murray, professor of psychiatry at the institute, writes that doctors have known “for 150 years that heavy consumption of cannabis can lead to hallucinations.”

Marijuana has been a hot topic lately, with more states considering legalizing medical marijuana, while other studies report fewer teens have been smoking and that marijuana may also lead to testicular cancer.
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