People Who are Heavy Marijuana Smokers May Get Schizophrenia
- New York Post
VIVA – A new study reveals that young men who are heavy marijuana smokers may have a higher risk of developing schizophrenia.
The research, which was published on May 4 in the journal Psychological Medicine, found that a shocking 30% of schizophrenia cases among men aged 21 to 30 could have been thwarted if they had averted cannabis use disorder.
Scientists checked out recent cases of schizophrenia, an abnormal interpretation of reality resulting in hallucinations, delusions, or disordered thinking. The study’s authors stated that in 2021, CUD played an integral role in 15% of cases occurring in men aged 16 to 49, and in 4% of cases affecting women in the same age range.
CUD is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the inability to stop using marijuana despite negative impacts on one’s health and social life. According to the Center, it affects 3 in 10 marijuana smokers. The new study examined data concerning 6.9 million people ages 16 to 49 collected in Denmark from 1972 to 2021.
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- yahoo news
Young men may be more at risk because historically men are more likely than women to develop schizophrenia, and also because a greater number of men smoke marijuana.
“When you’re looking at cannabis use, or substance use in general, men tend to be on the higher end of the [consumption] spectrum than women. They may also be more prone to sensation-seeking behavior," Dr. Scott Krakower, a psychiatrist at Northwell Health’s Zucker Hillside Hospital explained, as reported by the New York Post.
Krakower also said he could see how heavy marijuana consumption in young men could be linked to a schizophrenia diagnosis, but quantifying how much marijuana consumption would make a difference is unclear.
But, legalized weed and limited regulation certainly aren’t helping, he said.
“A kid could smoke a lot and nothing is going to happen to them but god forbid your kid is predisposed and they get a psychotic disorder,”
He added that excessive marijuana use in one’s teens is especially dangerous, as it can impact overall brain development and even cause some changes to its anatomy.
“The brain is at its peak developmental years from 12 to 20,” Krakower said. “When marijuana comes into the picture, normal brain development is impaired.”
According to a report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse published in March 2021, those aged 12 to 17 are more apt than those aged 18 to 25 to become addicted to marijuana within a year after using it for the first time.
The Danish study determined that while cannabis use disorder is not responsible for most schizophrenia cases in Denmark specifically, marijuana consumption has contributed to a rise in schizophrenia in the last 50 years.
