Cannabis use is a risk factor for schizophrenia

Cannabis use in adolescence, as measured by self report questionnaire, is associated with an increased risk of developing schizophrenia. In a historical cohort study of 50 087 Swedish conscripts, Zammit and colleagues (p 1199) report that cannabis use in adolescence is a risk factor for schizophrenia, independent of the effects of other drugs or social personality traits. Consideration of these risks is important in light of debates about legalising cannabis use. In a New Zealand cohort, Arseneault and colleagues (p 1212) found that adolescent cannabis use is a risk factor for schizophrenia, even after adjustment for pre-existing childhood psychoses. Their longitudinal study shows that early cannabis use (by age 15) is of greater risk than later use (by age 18). Risk was specific to cannabis, rather than other drugs. The study supports efforts to discourage cannabis use among psychologically vulnerable adolescents.

(Credit: SIPA PRESS/REX)

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