Schizophrenia cases related to cannabis consumption

Cannabis abuse has been linked to a higher risk of schizophrenia, according to a new study. The study from Denmark found that over the past 25 years the number of schizophrenia cases related to cannabis use has increased. The study, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, also found that while only 2 percent of schizophrenia diagnoses in 1995 were associated with marijuana use, that number had risen to about 8 percent by 2010. The study's authors believe that their results reflect that cannabis, despite its positive reputation compared to other recreational drugs, can be dangerous and cause serious medical side effects. They had examined decades of data from Denmark's national health registry, focusing on extreme users with a cannabis treatment disorder. "Unfortunately, there is evidence that cannabis is increasingly being viewed as a rather harmless substance. This is unfortunate because we see links with schizophrenia, poor cognitive functions and substance use disorders," said study author and associate professor at the Copenhagen Mental Health Research Center, Carsten Hjorthøj CNN. "I think it is very important to use both our study and other studies to highlight and stress that cannabis use is not harmless," added the author. According to the study's authors, with these findings, the drug should not be viewed as a "harmless" drug. "Of course our results need to be replicated elsewhere before firm conclusions can be drawn," said Hjorthøj. "But I'm pretty confident that we'll see similar patterns in places where problematic cannabis use has increased, or where the potency of cannabis has increased, as many studies suggest that highly potent cannabis is likely the driver of the association with schizophrenia is."