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Report suggests Marijuana Linked to Risk of Mental Illness

July 30, 2007

The New York Times  (opens in a new window, free one time registration required) reports on possible link between marijuana use and psychosis. A new study, funded by the British Health Department, suggests that even occasional use of cannabis could raise the risk of serious mental illness by 40 percent; however, researchers couldn’t prove that marijuana use itself causes psychosis.

At the 2007 NAMI National Convention, Nora Volkow, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, spoke about new research that explores the relationship between substance abuse and mental illness. Volkow explained that there are common factors between mental illness and drug abuse related to genetics, brain development and environmental stressors.

 

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