The following is an article from Hafal’s Big Lottery-funded Young People’s Information Hub. To access the Hub please click here.
A report published in the British Medical Journal has suggested that using cannabis as a teenager or young adult increases the risk of psychosis.
The study involved 1,900 people (aged between 14-24) over a ten year period and found that cannabis use “significantly” increased the risk of psychotic symptoms even when other factors such as socio-economic status, use of different drugs and other psychiatric conditions were taken into account.
Sir Robin Murray, Professor of Psychiatric Research at the Institute of Psychiatry, said the study added “a further brick to the wall of evidence” showing that use of traditional cannabis is a contributory cause of psychoses like schizophrenia.
For more information please visit: http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d738