Scientists Link Marijuana-Use to Schizophrenia

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It isn’t just “reefer madness.” Multiple scientific studies and reviews conducted over the past decade–particularly in the past couple of years–are showing a clear connection between marijuana-use during adolescence and the development of schizophrenia in adulthood.

A 2002 study published in the British Medical Journal followed up research showing a connection between adolescent cannabis-use and schizophrenia. The study examined whether marijuana causes schizophrenia in adulthood or people who choose to use marijuana as adolescents are already predisposed toward developing schizophrenia later in life. The study concluded, “cannabis use is associated with an increased risk of experiencing schizophrenia symptoms, even after psychotic symptoms preceding the onset of cannabis use are controlled for, indicating that cannabis use is not secondary to a pre-existing psychosis….early cannabis use (by age 15) confers greater risk for schizophrenia outcomes than later cannabis use (by age 18).”1

The study conceded researchers needed to examine the topic more thoroughly, and in the 11 years since that is exactly what scientists have done.

In 2010, research published in the British Journal of Pharmacology stated, (more…)

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How Marijuana Triggers Fear, Anxiety, and Paranoia

Marijuana

As people continue debating the topic of legalizing marijuana, it’s worth bringing up a research study published in the Journal of Neuroscience  in the spring of 2011 examining the link between marijuana-use and paranoia.

The study found rats exposed to cannabinoid drugs exhibited increased fearfulness compared to rats that were not exposed to the drug.

As TIME magazine noted in an article about the study,

“The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggest that activity in the basolateral amygdala is involved in marijuana-induced paranoia (the state of becoming afraid of things that wouldn’t normally trigger fear). That means marijuana is actually enhancing a type of learning about fear, leading the brain to jump to conclusions about mild experiences involving particular places or things, and to perceive them as scarier and more strongly connected than they are.

“This increased fear-based learning helps explain why stoners tend to see patterns in events that aren’t real, such as conspiracies.”

Below is a statement from the study’s leader, Dr. Steven Laviolette, discussing the ramifications of the study and its findings.

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