Minneapolis St. Paul Mental Health Blog

Mental Health and Cannabis use | People who use cannabis every day run a significantly higher risk of developing the serious mental illness psychosis...

Mental Health | Expecting mothers who smoke marijuana or use the drug in any form may be putting their children at risk...

for psychosis later in life, a new study says.

Mental Health | Teen use of marijuana may raise the risk of major depression and suicidal thoughts later in life, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that cannabis use during the teenage years was associated with a nearly 40 percent bump in the risk of depression and a 50 percent increase in the risk of suicidal thoughts in adulthood, according to the study, published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry.

The study comes at a time when cannabis use continues to be high among teens.

Mental Health | Low levels of marijuana use — as few as one or two times — may change the teen brain, according to a new study.

Mental Health | Vaping or Smoking Cannabis, how it effects infrequent users.

In a small study of infrequent cannabis users, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have shown that, compared with smoking cannabis, vaping it increased the rate of short-term anxiety, paranoia, memory loss and distraction when doses were the same.

The findings of the new study, described in the Nov. 30 edition of JAMA Network Open, highlight the importance of dose considerations with the perception that vaping is a safer alternative to smoking cannabis, the researchers say. And they ask regulators of medical and recreational cannabis dispensaries to take note.

Mental Health | Cannabis use by mothers or fathers during pregnancy, or even only before pregnancy, is associated with an increased risk of psychotic-like episodes in their children, a Dutch study suggests.

Because pot use by mothers and fathers carried similar risk, and a mother’s use before pregnancy had the same effect as use during pregnancy, the study team speculates that parental pot use is likely a marker for genetic and environmental vulnerability to psychotic experiences rather than a cause, and could be useful for screening kids at risk for psychosis later in life.

Mental Health | April 20 is known as a popular “4/20” holiday for marijuana enthusiasts, but researchers argue that the festivities may have serious consequences, including an increased risk of fatal traffic crashes.

Mental Health Minnesota | Cannabidiol (CBD) is considered to be a non-psychotomimetic and non-psychoactive derivative of Cannabis sativa.

It was patented by the US Department of Health and Human Services in 2003 as an antioxidant and neuro-protectant. CBD has a complex mode of action which includes inverse agonism (functionally an antagonist) of CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, mild monoamine uptake inhibition, and 5-HT1A agonism.

Additionally, reviews based on preclinical and clinical research identify CBD as an anxiolytic, antipsychotic, anti-insomnia and antidepressant agent. Furthermore, it has putative anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, analgesic, and neuroprotective properties.

Adjunct use of CBD in schizophrenia is supported by the highest quality of evidence.

A recent randomized controlled trial demonstrated superiority of adjunctive CBD to placebo in treating positive symptoms of schizophrenia, and a strong trend towards efficacy in addressing cognitive difficulties associated with this condition.

A prior randomized active control study found that monotherapy with CBD had comparable effect to amisulpride (one of the most efficacious antipsychotics) on positive symptoms while demonstrating a clear advantage in treating negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Several open-label studies extend and support the benefits of CBD in psychotic disorders.

Preclinical and open-label studies have found that CBD also may be helpful in the treatment of anxiety, particularly social anxiety, using a public speaking paradigm. Mostly preclinical evidence from animal studies suggests there may be a reason to study CBD as an adjunct treatment for depression, while preliminary evidence points to its potential usefulness as a safer substitute for controlled substances used in treating psychiatric and pain disorders.

While emerging evidence is encouraging, more studies utilizing rigorous scientific methodology and larger clinical samples need to be completed before we can endorse wider use of CBD in the treatment of psychiatric disorders.

Nearly one-quarter of people with problematic marijuana use in early adulthood had anxiety disorders in childhood and late adolescence....

, according to a study published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

The findings are based on results from a prospective 20-year cohort study that followed 1229 participants from western North Carolina from childhood through their early 30s. The study aimed to identify risk profiles linked with patterns of problematic cannabis use in early adulthood.

“Given that more states may be moving towards legalization of cannabis for medicinal and recreational purposes, this study raises attention about what we anticipate will be the fastest growing demographic of users—adults,” said lead author Sherika Hill, PhD, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC. “A lot of current interventions and policies in the United States are aimed at early adolescent users.

Nearly one-quarter of people with problematic marijuana use in early adulthood had anxiety disorders in childhood and late adolescence,

...according to a study published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.