Medical cannabis does not lead to an increase in psychotic disorders – studies

Doubters regarding legalization often say that the consumption of cannabis is associated with increasing health risks. The outbreak of psychoses is increased by the use of the natural intoxicant and statistics might support this. As recently as June, the UN Drugs Report 2022 mentioned that 30 percent of all addiction therapies might be attributed to cannabis use.

The European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction also says that there has been a 76 percent increase in demand for such therapies over the past ten years. According to the researchers at the Addiction and Mental Health Group at the University of Bath, this is due, among other things, to increasing THC levels, which is why there was a plea for the development of health policy guidelines and measures to make the use of cannabis safer for consumers. However, new study results from a Canadian investigation into the use of medical cannabis now report that users of the natural medicine are not exposed to an increased risk of hospitalization due to mental disorders.

23,000 patients observed over 240 days

Results from the Canadian cohort study, published in late July in the journal Substance Use & Misuse, suggest that medical cannabis patients are at low risk of psychiatric hospitalization for their marijuana use. The available data from more than 23,000 admitted patients, who provided information over an average period of 240 days, were checked accordingly in order to establish unequivocal truth. More specifically, the researchers tracked the frequency of hospitalizations attributed to either “cannabis intoxication” or “mental or behavioral disorders related to cannabis use.”

After reviewing the data, a total of 14 patients were hospitalized for problems related to cannabis toxicity, and 26 people for mental disorders or emerging behavioral disorders, according to the research. Factors influencing cannabis-related mental and behavioral disorders included a history of substance abuse disorders, other mental disorders, age, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

argument once morest opinion making

The scientific results from Canada thus clearly refute the claim often made by opponents of cannabis legalization that frequent use of marijuana can trigger psychosis and other mental disorders. Rather, the researchers conclude that the results would indicate that such side effects would very rarely be associated with use. “The results suggest that the incidence of cannabis intoxication or cannabis-related mental or behavioral disorders was low among patients allowed to use cannabis for medical care,” the authors said. Observations of the low rates of emergency room and hospital visits for “cannabis intoxication” and “cannabis use disorders” in the sizeable cohort of medicinal cannabis users would therefore help to allay concerns regarding the increasing use of medicinal cannabis.

What should not be mentioned, but should not be swept under the rug, is the fact that all patients were provided with legal medical cannabis, were therefore informed regarding the active substance content and received consistent quality goods. Something that consumers of pleasure have had to do without in this country so far, so that the circumstances on the black market can unfortunately change the starting position.

Sources and further links

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