Psychosis

Cannabis and Impaired Brain Development

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The adolescent brain is particularly vulnerable to cannabis, especially today’s higher-potency products, which put teens at risk for impaired brain development; mental health issues, including psychosis; and cannabis use disorder (CUD).  That was the message delivered by Yasmin Hurd, PhD, director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai in New York, during a May 6 press briefing at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) 2024 annual meeting. 

“We’re actually in historic times in that we now have highly concentrated, highly potent cannabis products that are administered in various routes,” Hurd told reporters. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentrations in cannabis products have increased over the years, from around 2%-4% to 15%-24% now, Hurd noted. High-Potency Cannabis Tied to Impaired Brain Development, Psychosis, CUD – Medscape – May 13, 2024. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/high-potency-cannabis-tied-impaired-brain-development-2024a1000935

Earlier posts on this topic:

Marijuana is Too Strong (THC turbocharged)

Cannabis Use and Psychosis Risk

Cannabis Use and Psychosis Risk (Aussie Version)

Reefer Madness

Cannabis Use and Psychosis Risk (Aussie Version)

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Professor Emmerson says Queensland’s Metro North Health — Australia’s largest public health service, based in north Brisbane and the surrounding region — is seeing increased presentations of psychosis due to medicinal cannabis.”The Metro North early psychosis service reports 10 per cent of their new presentations — so these are kids aged 16 to 21 — are people who’ve ended up on medicinal cannabis and are becoming psychotic,” the Brisbane-based psychiatrist says.

Doctors warn of significant increase in people hospitalized with psychosis after being prescribed medicinal cannabis — https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-21/medicinal-cannabis-psychosis-harm-risk-prescription-marijuana/104116952

Cannabis Use and Psychosis Risk

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The investigators found that cannabis use was significantly associated with psychotic disorders during adolescence (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 11.2; 95% CI, 4.6 to 27.3), but not during young adulthood (aHR, 1.3; 95% CI, 0.6 to 2.6). Adolescents who used cannabis also had a substantially higher risk for hospitalizations and emergency department visits (aHR, 26.7; 95% CI, 7.7 to 92.8), while there was no substantial risk observed in young adulthood (aHR, 1.8; 95% CI, 0.6 to 5.4). Growing Evidence Supports the Link Between Cannabis Use and Psychosis Risk — https://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/news/cannabis-use-and-psychosis-risk/

Have you read the book The Dangerous Truth About Today’s Marijuana by Laura Stack? https://johnnysambassadors.org/book/

If you have small children I highly recommend this book.

Cannabis and Kids

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Epidemiologic research suggests that cannabis use may be a significant risk factor for psychotic disorders. A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies estimated that lifetime cannabis users had an odds ratio of 2.58 (95% CI 1.08–6.13) for psychotic disorders compared to non-users (Moore et al., Reference Moore, Zammit, Lingford-Hughes, Barnes, Jones, Burke and Lewis2007). Another meta-analysis found an odds ratio of 3.90 (95% CI 2.84–5.34) for psychotic disorders among the most frequent cannabis users compared to non-users, suggesting dose–response (Marconi, Di Forti, Lewis, Murray, & Vassos, Reference Marconi, Di Forti, Lewis, Murray and Vassos2016). Whether cannabis use is causally related to psychotic disorders continues to be debated, with recent genetic studies raising uncertainty about the directionality of the relationship and the magnitude of association (Ganesh & D’Souza, Reference Ganesh and D’Souza2022; Gillespie & Kendler, Reference Gillespie and Kendler2021).

This study provides new evidence of a strong but age-dependent association between cannabis use and risk of psychotic disorder, consistent with the neurodevelopmental theory that adolescence is a vulnerable time to use cannabis. The strength of association during adolescence was notably greater than in previous studies, possibly reflecting the recent rise in cannabis potency. Age-dependent association of cannabis use with risk of psychotic disorder Psychological Medicine , First View , pp. 1 – 11 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291724000990

Reefer Madness

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Violence associated with psychosis has also been well-documented. Marijuana use may be associated with increased impulsivity on the same day and the following day relative to days when marijuana was not used. It is also associated with increased hostile behaviors and perceptions of hostility in others on the same day compared to days when marijuana was not used. Cannabis use disorder appears to increase the risk of aggression towards others, particularly among youths. There is also evidence of a moderate association between cannabis use and physical violence.

Psychosis can be caused by various conditions, including licit and illicit substances, particularly cannabis. Cannabis has a higher conversion rate to psychosis than other substances. 32 percent of patients with substance-induced psychosis convert to either bipolar or schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, with the highest conversion rate found with cannabis-induced psychosis (47 percent). There is debate about the causal relationship between cannabis and psychosis. However, this can be demonstrated using Bradford-Hill criteria. Despite this, psychosis is often multifactorial in many instances. Cannabis exposure increases the risk of psychosis, from transient psychotic states to chronic recurrent psychosis. In individuals with established psychosis, cannabis has a negative impact on the course and expression of the illness.

The dark side of cannabis: increased risk of psychosis — https://www.kevinmd.com/2023/01/the-dark-side-of-cannabis-increased-risk-of-psychosis.html

But really, Does Marijuana Have Any Bad Side Effects?

You must be joking about Cannabis and Psychosis, right?

Marijuana and hallucinogen use among young adults reached all-time high in 2021

Marijuana Tied to Ongoing, Subclinical Psychosis in Teens

Cannabis and Psychosis

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Californians voted to legalize recreational pot in 2016. Three years later, emergency room visits for cannabis-induced psychosis went up 54% across the state, from 682 to 1,053, according to state hospital data. For people who already have a psychotic disorder, cannabis makes things worse — leading to more ER visits, more hospitalizations, and more legal troubles, said Dr. Deepak Cyril D’Souza, a psychiatry professor at Yale University School of Medicine who also serves on the physicians’ advisory board for Connecticut’s medical marijuana program.

California May Require Labels on Pot Products to Warn of Mental Health Risks — https://khn.org/news/article/california-marijuana-warning-labels/

Listen to the article above here: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/06/17/1105494283/california-pot-warning-labels

Recreational cannabis use is linked to a heightened risk of emergency care and hospital admission for any cause, finds research published in the open access journal BMJ Open Respiratory Research.

Cannabis use linked to heightened emergency care and hospital admission risks — https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-06-cannabis-linked-heightened-emergency-hospital.html

Low Folate, Vitamin D Implicated in First-Episode Psychosis

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Nutritional deficiencies, especially deficiencies in folate and vitamin D, are associated with first-episode psychosis (FEP), new research suggests.

Australian researchers found significantly lower levels of folate and vitamin D in patients with FEP, compared to healthy control persons. Limited evidence also suggested that serum levels of vitamin C were reduced in people with FEP.

Read the source article here 

Access the full study here.

Marijuana and Psychosis – Possible Link

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Pot Use in Youth Ups Risk of Psychotic Symptoms in Later Life

The new findings are based on data on about 2,000 individuals in Germany who were 14 to 24 years old when they enrolled in the study, and who were then followed for 10 years. 

None of the participants had ever tried marijuana before entering the study, nor had any experienced psychotic symptoms.

The researchers found that those who started smoking pot during the 10 years of the trial had double the risk of developing psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, even after adjusting for factors such as age, sex, socioeconomic status, other drug use and other psychiatric diagnoses.

And the more persistent the use, the more persistent the symptoms.

Chandler police link beheading to theft of marijuana from Mexican cartel – East Valley Tribune: Cop Shop