Complex Link: Marijuana, Psychotic Disorder

Marijuana, is it nature's greatest medicine or just another poison? There are many theories about the good and bad of the drug, but now a new study says there may be complex connections between marijuana and a psychotic disorder.

It's not that marijuana causes schizophrenia, but the studies of the drug show that people who suffer from schizophrenia are twice as likely to smoke marijuana, and people who smoke are twice as likely to develop the disorder.

But, and this is an important but, the study does not indicate that marijuana causes the psychotic disorder, or makes you more likely to suffer from it. Researchers are quick to point out that even though marijuana has become much more popular in the last 50 years, rates of schizophrenia have not risen at all.

So this study does not seem to show that marijuana poses a danger, and it still is widely believed to have many health benefits and medicinal uses in moderation.

Complex Link Marijuana Psychotic Disorder

Since the days of Reefer Madness, scientists have sought to understand the complex connection between marijuana and psychosis. Cannabis can cause short-term psychotic experiences, such as hallucinations and paranoia, even in healthy people, but researchers have also long noted a link between marijuana use and the chronic psychotic disorder, schizophrenia. Repeatedly, studies have found that people with schizophrenia are about twice as likely to smoke pot as those who are unaffected.

Complex Link Marijuana Psychotic Disorder