Published in:
01-02-2019 | Cannabinoid | Editorial
Cannabis use and mental health: risks and benefits
Authors:
Wayne Hall, Eva Hoch, Valentina Lorenzetti
Published in:
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
|
Issue 1/2019
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Excerpt
In public debates about cannabis policy, two competing claims are often made about how cannabis use may affect mental health. One is that cannabis use by young adults and vulnerable individuals across the lifespan can be a contributory cause of: a cannabis dependence syndrome; schizophreniform psychoses; anxiety and depressive disorders; acute and perhaps chronic cognitive impairment, and structural and functional changes in brain pathways implicated in reward, learning and addiction. The second claim is that cannabis (or some cannabinoids such as cannabidiol) have neuroprotective properties and can be used to treat anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, pain, neurological disorders and dependence on various drugs including cannabis. …
