General Article Cannabis users at ‘much higher’ risk of developing poor mental health

Topic Selected: Cannabis Book Volume: 399

The findings point to the need for a public health approach to the management of people misusing cannabis, including the need to emphasise the importance of general practitioners to continue enquiring about recreational drug use.

While the links between cannabis use and severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and psychosis are well researched, the associations are less clear between cannabis use as described in patients’ GP records and other, more common types of mental ill health such as depression and anxiety.

In a new study, published in Psychological Medicine, researchers in the University of Birmingham’s Institute for Mental Health and the Institute of Applied Health Research found a strong link between general practice recorded cannabis use and mental ill health in one of the largest cohorts ever explored.

Senior author Dr Clara Humpston said: ‘Cannabis is often considered to be one of the “safer” drugs and has also shown promise in medical therapies, leading to calls fo...

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