Recent medical research has consistently linked adolescent cannabis use with a higher frequency of poor mental health later in life, compared to those who never used cannabis. This includes an increased risk of psychosis, though the causality of that link isn’t completely understood. However, a study published in mid-May 2024 has strengthened our understanding of that link. Researchers in the UK, using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), closely examined the link between the use of high-potency cannabis and later new-onset psychosis.
The ALSPAC tracks a birth cohort initiated in Avon, England for children born between approximately April 1, 1991 and December 31, 1992. The researchers interviewed a total of 1,560 individuals from the cohort at age 24, to determine whether they had experienced a psychotic episode in their life, and when. These individuals had all reported their lifetime type of cannabis use (i.e., high- or low-potency), and had previously self-reported on their cannabis use at ages 16 or 18. A total of 145 reported having incident (first) psychotic experiences in the years since.
Ultimately the researchers determined, using several measures, that users of high-potency cannabis (i.e., products containing greater than 10% THC content) were about twice as likely to experience incident psychotic experiences from ages 19-24, compared to those who had never used cannabis. The researchers also determined that there was “less evidence” for a link between any cannabis use and incident psychotic experience.
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