April 13, 2005 – Daily Cannabis Use Almost Doubles The Risk Of Mental Health Symptoms In Young Adults, New Study Finds1.
Already, a good deal of research linked marijuana use to psychotic episodes, but it was not known which cannabis or mental disorder had an effect on the other.
Researchers at the University of Otago, New Zealand, analyzed data from 1,055 people born in 1977 who participated in a longitudinal health study, the Christchurch Health and Development Study. The researchers had the socio-economic and family profile of each of the participants since their birth. At the ages of 18, 21 and 25, they then collected information from them about their cannabis use and the onset and frequency of psychotic symptoms. Finally, these data were subjected to different analysis models.
At the end of the follow-up, the authors of the study were able to establish that the use of marijuana on a daily basis increased by up to 1.8 times the risk of onset of mental disorders. According to the researchers, this causal link is attributable to the effects that marijuana has on the biochemistry of the brain, as some studies in neuropsychology tend to demonstrate. These effects would be even more marked in heavy “weed” smokers.
The authors also found that, contrary to popular belief, people experiencing a psychotic episode tend to reduce their cannabis use rather than increase it.
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
According to BBC News.
1. FergussonDM, Horwood LJ, Ridder EM, Tests of causal linkages between cannabis use and psychotic symptoms, Addiction, March 2005, Vol. 100, No 3, 354-66.
