As in the 1930s, those pushing this narrative are seeking a renewed crackdown on the plant, particularly in state-legal markets. As in 1930, those who push this narrative want a new crackdown on the drug, especially in states that allow it. .”
By Paul Armentano, NORML
Some health professionals have expressed concern about the possibility that high-potency cannabis products could trigger psychotic symptoms, especially in young men. These claims are not new. claims that smoking cannabis caused “incurable sanity” were promoted widely throughout the 1920s, 1930s, and even into 1937. This eventually led Congress to ban the substance.
is gaining attention in the mainstream media. Today’s alerts may be less sensational but they are still generating . As in 1930s, those who push this narrative want a new crackdown on marijuana, especially in state-legal market.
Is it true that cannabis consumption today is a unique threat to mental health? Especially in terms of the increased risk for a psychotic breakdown? In the last few months, a number of studies have shed much needed light on this topic.
Acute cannabis-induced psychosis, however, is extremely rare. Those who experience it tend to be either predisposed or already have a psychiatric condition. Recently, Canadian researchers evaluated mental and behavioral hospitalizations in a cohort of over 23,000 medical marijuana patients. Only 26 of the 23,000 medical cannabis patients were hospitalized during the study for “disorders caused by the use of marijuana.”
European data also tells the same story. A team of international scientists published a study in September of this year in the journal Translational Psychiatry that assessed cannabis-associated psychotic symptom incidences in a cohort 230,000 consumers. found that less than half of one percent had ever experienced symptoms that required medical intervention, a rate similar to alcohol.
Canada’s data is also in line with this, as the country legalized cannabis use for adults in 2018. According to a report recently published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, in the years since, investigators failed to find any “evidence of a significant change in cannabis-induced schizophrenia or psychosis [in] emergency room presentations.”
Researchers in the United Kingdom have just published a paper that casts doubt on how much moderate cannabis consumption plays a role in triggering psychotic symptoms. Researchers examined the relationship between cannabis use, psychotic disorders and clinically high-risk young adults. Researchers evaluated the mental health of subjects at baseline, and then tracked them over a two-year period. Contrary to other epidemiological studies that have been conducted, the researchers found that cannabis users were not at a higher risk of having a psychotic event.
concluded that “there was no significant relationship between any measure cannabis use at baseline, and either transition into psychosis or the persistence of symptoms.” The authors hypothesized that, in cases where such a link had previously been identified, the subjects were likely to have started cannabis use earlier, consumed more products, and used it more frequently.
In the United States, two recent studies failed to find a link between the adoption of state level cannabis legalization laws and increased rates of psychosis. In the first research, researchers evaluated the relationship between legalization of adult-use cannabis and psychosocial functioning among 240 identical twins. The first twin lived in a jurisdiction that allowed adult-use cannabis, and the second twin in a state that prohibited cannabis. The authors reported that twins living in states that legalized cannabis were more likely to consume the drug than their counterparts, but they did not experience an increased risk of psychosis or substance abuse disorders.
The researchers concluded that “our co-twin controls and differential vulnerability results suggest the impacts of legalizing recreational cannabis on psychiatric outcomes and psychosocial outcomes…are…minimal.”
Stanford University researchers evaluated the relationship between the adoption of state legalization laws and the rates of psychosis related health care claims over a four-year period among 63 million individuals with private insurance. They concluded that: “We did not observe any statistically significant relationship between state cannabis policy levels and overall rates of psychosis related diagnoses or prescription antipsychotics.”
It is not meant to negate the fact that people with psychiatric conditions may consume cannabis. (It is well-established that people suffering from psychosis, and other similar symptoms , tend, to consume all controlled drugs at higher rates than the general population.) Or that cannabis use can exacerbate psychotic symptoms or trigger an episode of psychosis. Cannabis is not harmless.
There are certain populations at higher risk of adverse reactions. This category is likely to include those who have certain psychiatric conditions or are predisposed towards such events. Sensitizing them about the risks of cannabis won’t do much to protect them. It won’t help to call for the criminalization of cannabis on state-legal markets.
The best way to protect the public’s health and reduce consumer risks is to create a regulated cannabis market that keeps products out of the hands of young people and provides clear warnings for those populations more susceptible to its effects.
Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws is the Paul Armentano.
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