Are psychotic-like experiences related to a discontinuation of cannabis consumption in young adults?

Abstract

Age of first use Perceived stress Cannabis discontinuation hypothesis associated with psychotic-like experiences at age 19 or 22. In exploratory analysis, we observed a positive association between perceived stress and the experience of psychotic experiences at age 22. Conclusion: Age of first use of cannabis influenced trajectories of young cannabis users with later onset leading to higher increase, whereas the frequency of psychotic-like experiences was not associated with a change in cannabis use. The observed association between perceived stress and psychotic-like experiences at age 22 emphasizes the importance of stress experiences in developing psychosis independent of cannabis use.

Editorial: Gone to Pot: Examining the Association Between Cannabis Use and Medical/Psychiatric Disorders

“…Multiple lines of evidence ranging from epidemiological studies (3)(4)(5) [both cross-sectional and within-subject studies (6)], human laboratory studies using delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive constituent in cannabis (7,8), and more recently, genetic studies (9,10) suggest that cannabis use is a risk factor for the later development of psychosis. The association is moderated by additional factors such as onset of use in adolescence, exposure to childhood trauma and other environmental risk factors, and presence of additional symptoms such as perceived stress, anxiety and depression (11)(12)(13).…”