Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2005; 10: 244
Several recent studies have shown that cannabis has a psychotic effect, with implications for cannabis products currently being researched for medical use. Swiss researchers found that two out of eight men given chemicals extracted from cannabis developed psychosis.1 A New Zealand study suggested that smoking cannabis almost doubled the risk of developing a mental illness.1 US researchers also found that cannabis use led to an increased risk of psychosis.1 A further study from Kings College London has found a genetic link between psychosis and cannabis.2 Their study shows that one in four people carries a gene that increases their susceptibility to psychotic illness.
