Cannabis abuse linked to higher risk of schizophrenia: study - New York Post

A new study out of Denmark has found that, in the past 25 years, the number of schizophrenia cases correlated with cannabis use has increased: While only 2 percent of schizophrenia diagnoses in 1995 were associated with marijuana use, by 2010, that figure had risen to approximately 8 percent. .

Authors of the study, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, believe their findings reflect that cannabis, despite its positive reputation relative to other recreational drugs, can be dangerous and have serious medical side effects. .

To reach this conclusion, they analyzed decades worth of data from Denmark’s national health registry, focusing on extreme users with cannabis treatment disorder.

That cannabis users have an increased likelihood of becoming schizophrenic is well established, but researchers believe their findings show that the issue is worsening and becoming more widespread. 

“But I do feel fairly confident that we will see similar patterns in places where problematic use of cannabis has increased, or where the potency of cannabis has increased, since many studies suggest that high-potency cannabis is probably the driver of the association with schizophrenia.”

In an accompanying commentary, experts noted that the majority of schizophrenia diagnoses are not due to cannabis use, but enough are that the issue is still of merit