The causal link between marijuana use and the development of psychosis is the most well-replicated, high-impact finding in schizophrenia research today.
Cannabis and its main psychoactive ingredient, Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), can induce acute psychotic symptoms in healthy individuals, exacerbate preexisting psychotic symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, and increase the risk of schizophrenia after long-term use.
The heavier the marijuana use and the more potent the product, the more likely a psychotic outcome like schizophrenia. Daily use of potencies considered only moderate by current U.S. standards increases risk fourfold to fivefold. The risk for using higher potency is just now being studied.
Marijuana-induced psychotic breaks are those most likely to lead to a diagnosis of schizophrenia within eight years.
The risk of schizophrenia among regular cannabis users rises by an average of 300%.
Thirty-five percent of those who experience paranoia, delusions, or auditory hallucinations as occasional symptoms can be expected to eventually transition to a full psychotic break if they continue to use marijuana.
Cannabis Use Disorder carries an increased risk of schizophrenia by fourfold, and 27% of people with schizophrenia had been diagnosed with cannabis use disorder in their lives. JAMA 2021, IASIC.
One of the periods of rapid growth for the human brain occurs from age 12 through 25. This is a crucial period that determines the structure and future functioning of the adult brain.) It is also crucial not to use during this period. As are testimonies show, early pot use leds to the many deaths in this next section.
Our son was happy and healthy before he started using marijuana at age 14. A friend introduced him to marijuana during a time when our family was supporting my wife in her fight against breast cancer. We noticed David changing rapidly, but attributed the change to puberty. After being kicked out of the private school…
Tyler was a sweet, friendly, super smart, and super talented young man. He loved animals, gaming, skateboarding, drawing & painting, and was a talented musician. He was a straight A student, with a 100% on his ACT math scores, until his marijuana use started affecting his grades, and his will to care. After high school,…
Cannabis, a supposedly harmless plant, led to our daughter Catherine Mayberry’s death at the age of 24 on October 8th, 2022. Catherine was a perfect kid up until age 18 – social, smart, athletic, creative, and hardworking. In 2016 at the age of 18, Catherine went off to college at the University of Minnesota and…
Be Extraordinary, Be You. July 17, 2021, 1:26 AM: “My attitude with the music and everything has been way too self-righteous. I am done with the music. I’m quitting weed for good and want to surround myself with healthy and happy people. This has been too much for me and for you guys. I have…
Johnny Stack was born on February 7, 2000, and died by suicide on November 20, 2019, at the age of 19. He was an incredibly intelligent, funny, charming, handsome young man, which you can see in his tribute video at https://johnnysambassadors.org/tribute. We are a regular suburban family that did regular family things. He had a happy…
Aaron was an intelligent, handsome, articulate, and comical young man who was compassionate and forgiving. He was accepting, loving of everyone, quick-witted, and always joking around with family and friends. He was the life of the party. Aaron was in the Future Business Leaders of America organization as well as a college accounting program. Looking…
I am a physical therapist who so strongly believed in medical marijuana that I went to work in a Massachusetts marijuana dispensary for 1.5 years as a budtender. My dispensary sold high-potency products. There were rashes, mildew, and mold on the marijuana; the labeled weight was incorrect; batches were mixed with different testing results; marijuana…
My daughter is 24 years old and suffers from cannabis use disorder and cannabis-induced psychosis. We had her back for a short time, but the addictiveness of this drug has pulled her away from us once again. Roxanne was a beautiful baby, and as she got older, she was very bubbly and her imagination was…
My brother thought he was John the Baptist. He slept under a freeway because he believed God wanted him to live there. (See https://anightinjail.com/ and a long story of Kirk’s life from Moms Strong: https://momsstrong.org/2018/01/19/brothers-marijuana-use-led-mental-illness/ ) About 10% to 15% of the population is predisposed to psychosis, and most of us don’t know it. Many people have not heard THC…
My son Adam suffers from cannabis use disorder and cannabis-induced psychosis. My husband and I worked hard to provide our kids with a loving and stable home. Our son was born in 1995. He did well in school. He skied in the winter, swam in the summer, and always had friends. In the spring of 2017,…