As a native of Colorado, who grew up during the legalization of marijuana, I have been fed numerous ideas about the drug. Some say that it will make you go crazy, while others claim that marijuana has no adverse side effects. After all, you can’t overdose on it, right? This smokey cloud of confusion led me to investigate the psychological effects of marijuana, and the results were mixed.
It turns out that all the wild propaganda of the late 20th century, depicting marijuana users as losing their minds, is not entirely false. Consistent users of marijuana are twice as likely to develop psychosis, and heavy users are 4 times as likely. The good news is that the psychosis is likely not permanent. A study with 35 patients found that after a psychotic episode, patients who did not continue to use marijuana did not relapse, whereas, patients that continued using the drug saw higher rates of relapse and worse outcomes. It is also worth noting that marijuana use has been found to increase the risk of developing schizophrenia and increase the severity of symptoms for those who already have the disease.
So we should go back to banning marijuana, right? The answer is not definitive, as it is worth noting that, despite the increased risk, most people who use marijuana will never develop psychosis or schizophrenia. These disorders are genetically linked, and the risk of developing these disorders from marijuana use probably lessens after adolescence. CBD from marijuana has also shown great benefits in helping chemotherapy patients manage symptoms and has been used in other medicinal products. So is that Rocky Mountain High going to give you a psychological disorder? It probably won’t, but there is definitely an increased risk.
Source
Urits, I., Gress, K., Charipova, K., Li, N., Berger, A. A., Cornett, E. M., Hasoon, J., Kassem, H., Kaye, A. D., & Viswanath, O. (2020). Cannabis Use and its Association with Psychological Disorders. Psychopharmacology bulletin, 50(2), 56–67.
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