(STUDY) Higher potency cannabis linked to psychosis, dependency


The following is an excerpt from MedPage Today.

In findings from the U.K. GAP study, for example, users of high-potency cannabis were nearly three times more likely to experience first-time psychosis compared with those who had never used cannabis before (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.91, 1.52-3.60), reported Kat Petrilli, MRes, of the University of Bath in England, and colleagues.

Use of higher potency cannabis products was associated with a greater risk for psychosis and dependency, a systematic review of 20 studies found.

And daily use of high-potency cannabis was associated with a more-than five times greater risk of psychosis (5.40, 2.80-11.30), which was not the case with daily use of lower potency forms.

These findings are also “partially independent of the occurrence of childhood trauma, which is a common risk factor for the development of psychosis,” Petrelli and co-authors noted in Lancet Psychiatry.

“The need to understand the association of cannabis potency with mental health outcomes is especially pressing because of international increases in cannabis potency and the availability of higher potency cannabis products, which have been particularly evident in new legal markets,” the team wrote in what they believe to be the first systematic review of the association of cannabis potency and mental health and addiction.

“Policy makers should carefully consider cannabis potency when regulating cannabis in legal markets, such as through limits or taxes based on THC concentration,” the researchers urged.

Read full MedPage article here.

Read press release from University of Bath here.


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5 thoughts on “(STUDY) Higher potency cannabis linked to psychosis, dependency”

  1. More regulation is not needed. Just need to let the free market exist and work. Higher potency cannabis is a direct result of prohibition. Decriminalizing cannabis results in increased availability of different strains, potency, delivery methods, and consumer information.

    1. Questioning the who and why of the study. ***The probably of a person using cannabis of also being on other medications may be higher. ***How do the cannabis vs pharmacicals fare for psychosis?

  2. No data means “researchers” decided what they wanted the results to mean. Those risk numbers did not show the input numbers. I don’t trust other people’s math. I want to check the raw data myself. Too many fake hockey stick graphs in this world.

  3. This Article ? I don’t use the stuff but Just Ban higher forms of THC level’s of potency ? Example ; You wouldn’t want to consume all Alcohol to be 200 Proof would you ? I’m surprised the drug companies is not converting THC to new forms of Pain Pill Formula’s= Breaking good = C22 H16 O2 = to make New pain patches or New ointment’s or using this new formula in part with a new pill as in Formula part % added ingredients ” From the inner mind to the outer limit’s ? It be better than watching everybody overdose on fentanyl…? Rather then legalizing lower forms of THC Cannabis..?

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