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Some lawmakers and doctors worry more and more about the dangers of marijuana. Experts distinguish the "new cannabis" – legalized, very powerful, available in the form of edible products or spray – and the old version, a weaker plant. It has been at least three decades since levels of THC, the chemical element responsible for the effect of marijuana, increase.
The concern is about the link between continued use of the herb and psychosis in young people. About 70 years ago, doctors began to suspect a relationship between the two and the evidence accumulated.
In the book Tell Your Children [Conte aos seus filhos] author Alex Berenson, a former New York Times reporter, states that legalization exposes an entire generation to a high risk of schizophrenia and other psychotic syndromes. For critics, such reasoning is an exaggeration.
Cannabis can cause psychosis, but the same goes for exaggerated doses of caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, stimulants, and hallucinogens. Psychosis is a temporary disorientation with strange images and imaginary sounds, often accompanied by paranoia. The vast majority of people with psychotic experiences do not develop a persistent illness such as schizophrenia, characterized by episodes of recurrent psychosis for years.
For the moment, the evidence is not conclusive enough to determine whether continuing cannabis use can cause schizophrenia and other syndromes. The debate revolves around the distinction between cause and correlation. People with psychotic problems often consume cannabis regularly. But it is not clear if the habit of consuming cannabis is prior to psychosis or vice versa.
There is circumstantial evidence of a biological mechanism by which the use of cannabis could cause a psychotic disorder, episodes that usually occur in the late teens and early teens. adulthood, during or after a period of rapid brain development.
In adolescence, the brain removes some unnecessary connections between neurons in the prefrontal cortex – where thought and planning occur – and the area disturbed by psychotic disorders. The region is rich in CB1 receptors, involved in this "size" and stimulated by cannabis use. According to recent research, changes in the pruning process can increase the risk of schizophrenia.
Predisposition to psychosis tends to be a hereditary trait, indicating that this vulnerability is transmitted from parents to offspring. According to studies, people at higher risk of developing a certain psychosis tend to exhibit more paranoid behavior when using cannabis, unlike consumers without this story.
For now, evidence suggests that family history of psychotic disorders plays a much larger role than any effect caused by cannabis use. A study conducted in 2014 found an increased risk of schizophrenia in people with a family history of this disorder, regardless of cannabis use.
"My study clearly shows that cannabis alone does not cause schizophrenia," said Dr. Lynn E. DeLisi of Harvard Medical School. "In fact, a genetic predisposition is needed." She added that it is likely that cannabis use during adolescence and up to age 25 may cause an image of schizophrenia.
Since marijuana has been illegal for so long, little research could give a definitive answer to the question, although it has begun to change. In summary, the regular use of high-potency new cannabis may actually pose a risk to youth related to a person with psychotic disorders. Most experts seem to agree on this alert.
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