A new Canadian study shows a tripling of schizophrenia cases linked to cannabis use disorder since the country legalized it.
Over a 16-year time period — spanning before and after legalization of cannabis for medical and recreational use — the number of new cases of schizophrenia associated with cannabis use disorder in Ontario nearly tripled after legalization, investigators found.
After legalization of cannabis, the number of people in Ontario who required hospital care for CUD jumped by 270%, from about 1.3 in every 1000 people before legalization to 4.6 after legalization, results showed. Myran added that “part of the challenge with cannabis is that with all the discussion around medical cannabis, people may think if this is a medicine it can’t possibly be hurting me. I think the conversation has to be — just because cannabis is now legal and the social norms are changing, doesn’t mean that there is not at risk, particularly in younger people.”
However, Myran said, “what is clear from the scientific literature is that people who are going to develop schizophrenia if they use cannabis and they use it regularly, they will develop it earlier in life and their symptoms will be worse.
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