Schizophrenia May Lead to Cannabis Use - Not the other way around.
I know how bizarre this sounds. You may be aware that there have been claims (as bogus as they are) about cannabis actually CAUSING different forms of schizophrenia or other related disorders. Yeah, we are lol'ing with you. But a very well credited and peer reviewed report revealed that there are people everywhere who show symptoms of schizophrenia, which in times can be a bit generalized, are more likely to seek aid in cannabis or medical marijuana use. These people may or may not have given schizophrenia a second thought, and mistook their symptoms as just severe stress and anxiety/insomnia etc. The study I am about to share with you is the largest cannabis-based study ever undertaken. More than 80 researchers around the world put their hands in the pot. Here is where they landed:
“Our findings may indicate that individuals at risk for developing schizophrenia” experience symptoms “that make them more likely to start using cannabis to cope or self-medicate,” wrote the study’s authors.
The peer-reviewed report, which included contributions from more than 80 researchers around the world, was based on the largest genetic study of cannabis use ever undertaken. Scientists have long suspected a connection between cannabis use and schizophrenia. But the research remains unclear about a possible causal relationship between the two.
Previous Reports: Cannabis & Schizophrenia
The Nature Neuroscience study was based on gene testing of more than 184,000 people, including 22,000 clients of 23andMe, the personal health and ancestry company. The study was coordinated by the International Cannabis Consortium, a project to identify genetic risk variants for cannabis use.
“Previous studies have shown that genetic risk factors for cannabis use and schizophrenia are positively correlated,” the authors noted.
In general, those studies have indicated that cannabis use by young people doesn’t itself cause schizophrenia—the evidence has pointed more to a dynamic where cannabis use can speed up the emergence of the mental disorder among those who have a genetic predisposition to the disease. That’s an especially critical concern because studies have shown that the earlier schizophrenia manifests in a person’s life, the more difficult it is to control and effectively manage.